
Class J . 

Book W^t A 



•^^^K'^t 



SERIES OF HISTORICAL TALES, 

F o 11 y (t i: T II ,• 



Key & Meilke, have in course of 
publication, a series of Tales, Anec- 
dotes, Sketches, and Adventures, for 
Children and Youth, drawn from Amer- 
ican History, and designed to be both 
interesting and instructive. By Lam- 
BERi LiLLYj Schoolmaster. 

O" These works are somewhat in the style of Peter 
Parley's Tales, but are adapted to more advanced readers. 
They are elegantly got up, with Engravings from orig- 
inal designs. The first three volumes of the series are 
already published, viz : 

The Story of the Americas Revolution, illus- 
trated by Tales, Sketches, and Anecdotes. 

The History of New England, illustrated by Tales, 
Sketches, Anecdotes, and Adventures. 

The Early History of the Southern States, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Georgia, illustrated by Tales, Sketches, and Anecdotes. 

(CFThe other volumes will contain the History of the 
Middle States, the History of Mexico, the History of 
the West Indies, the History of South America, and 
the History of Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. 




Capture of Guffcnreid, and Laxcson. 




Smith Carrying o(j- the Indian Chicj 



THE 



EARLY HISTORY 

OF THE ^ 

SOUTHERN STATES: 



VIRGINIA, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA, AND GEORGIA. 




WITH >-UMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 



BY LAMBERT LILLY, SCHOOLMASTER. 



- Uv^^ 






PHILADELPHIA 



rUBI.ISHED BY 



KEY, 3IIELKE AND BIDDLE. 



1832. 



r 



'^m 



Entered, according lo Act of fJoni^ress, in Ihh year 1832, In S.VMVEr, 
G. Goodrich, in Ibe Cltik's Office in the Diitrict Court of Massachusttl- 



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Si 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Early Voyages along the Coast of the Southern States. 
Patent granted to Walter Raleigh, by Queen Eliza- 
beth. Exploring Voyage under the Patronage of 
Raleigh. Discoveries made. Acquaintance formed 
with the Natives on the Coast of North Carolina. 
The Voyagers return to England 7 

CHAPTER H. 

Effects of the Voyage upon public Opinion in Eng- 
land. Name given to the newly-explored Country. 
Excursions made along the American Coasts, by 
the new Colonists under Governor Lane. Anec- 
dotes of the Natives 17 

CHAPTER HI. 

Conspiracy formed by the Indian King Wingina 
against the new Colony, It is discovered and dis- 
closed to the Whites by a young Indian. Wingina 
is killed. Famine in the Colony. They are re- 
lieved by the arrival of Sir Francis Drake. They 
embark for England. English Vessels arrive on 
the Coast 24 

CHAPTER IV. 

A second Colony sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh. 
Arrival on the American Coast. Fruitless Search 
for the fifty Colonists left at Croatan by Sir Richard 



4 CONTENTS. 

Granville in his last Voyage. Supposed Fate of 
these Colonists. The new Colony settles in an Island 
off Cape Hatteras. Return of the Vessels to Eng- 
land. Mr. White goes to England as Agent of the 
Colony. The Potato carried over to Ireland at this 
Time 31 

CHAPTER V. 

The Expenses incurred by Raleigh in his Attempts 
to colonize Virginia. He sells his Patent to a 
Company of Merchants. A new Expedition is sent 
out under their Direction. They search for the 
Colony left by Fernando in vain, and return to Eng- 
land discouraged. Proposals for a neY Expedition 
under better Auspices. The chief Persons engaged 
in it 39 

CHAPTER VI. 

Some account of John Smith. His Birth, School- 
days, and early Character. Death of his Father, and 
the Consequences of that Event. He travels into 
France, Flanders, and other Countries. Returns 
Home. Commences his Travels again. A Series 
of wonderful Adventures 45 

CHAPTER VII. 

Departure of a new Expedition from England. Arri- 
val on the Virginian Coast. The Country is par- 
tially explored. Adventures with the Natives. A 
Settlement is commenced at Jamestown. It is as- 
saulted by the Indians, who are repulsed. Smith is 
honorably acquitted of the Charges brought against 
him. Captain Newport sails for England 58 

CHAPTER VIII. 

State of the Jamestown Colony at this Time. Con- 
duct of the President and of Smith. A new Presi- 
dent chosen. Smith's great Services to the Colony. 
Preparations for Winter. Provisions brought in by 
the Indians. Various Adventures of Smith. He is 
at last captured by the Indians 66 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Adventures of Smith among the Indians. The 
Ceremonies used to ascertain his Disposition to- 



CONTENTS, 5 

^ifards them. His Death is resolved upon. It is pre^ 
vented by Pocahontas, the Daughter of Powhatan. 
Various Adventures and Anecdotes. Smith's Re- 
turn to Jamestown , 76 

CHAPTER X. 

The Colonists search for Gold Mines. Exploring 
Expeditions of Smith. Anecdote of a Stingray. De- 
scription of the Susquehannock Indians. Adven- 
tures among various Tribes. Smith is near being 
drowned. The Rappahannocks conceive a strong 
Affection for him. Anecdote of King Powhatan and 
Captain Newport , "^ 89 

CHAPTER XI. 

Anecdotes of King Povvhatan. More Adventures of 
Smith, He returns to England. State of the Colony 
at that Time. Its History for several Years after. 
It is at one Time near being abandoned. Massacre 
of the 22d of March, 1622 98 

CHAPTER XII. 

History of Carolina resumed. The Albemarle Col- 
ony. Colony at Oldtown Creek. The latter abandon 
their Settlement. Their Place taken by a Colony 
from Barbadoes. History of the latter. Settlement 
of Charleston. Anecdotes of all these Settlements. 
The Arrival of a Colony of Palatines from Germany. 
Settlement of Newbern A ,..,,,... 109 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Some Account of the Indians of Carolina. Their 
friendly Disposition towards the first Settlers. Oc- 
casion of the first Interruption of this Harmony. 
Adventure of Baron Graffenried among the Tus- 
karoras. His narrow Escape. Fflte of his Com- 
panions , 121 

CHAPTER XIV. 

General War of the North Carolina Indians against 
the Whites. Massacre of many of the latter. The 
South Carolinians come to their Relief against the 
Savages. The Indians are defeated. Renewal of 
Hostilities. Assistance a second Time from the 
Southern Province. The Indians entirely conquer- 
ed. Their subsequent History 130 



6 COxNTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The History of South Carolina continued. Great 
Excitement of political Parties. Quarrel between 
Gibbes and Broughton. Administration of Governor 
Johnson. An Account of the Revolution of 1719. 
Various Anecdotes connected with it 138 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Jndian War of 1715, in South Carolina. The Yamas- 
sees and other Indians incited against the English 
by the Spaniards. Anecdotes of them. Careless- 
ness on the Part of the Whites. Particulars of the 
Massacre, and the War which followed. The In- 
dians are at last conquered. The victorious English 
troops march into Charleston in Triumph 146 

CHAPTER XVlT. 
Some Account of the Spaniards in FV)rida. Their 
Hostility to the English Colonies. Occasions of it. 
Various hostile Expeditions attempted on each Side. 
Account of the French and Spanish Expedition 
against Charleston in 170C. They are repulsed with 
Disgrace 155 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Origin of the Settlement of Georgia. The first Col- 
ony which settled in it. They land at the Place 
now called Savannah. Account of their Proceed- 
ings for some Months. Anecdotes of the Indians. 
An Indian Treaty is concluded 163 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Mr. Oglethorpe goes to England. Government of 
Georgia during his Absence. His Return. Prog- 
ress of new Settlements. A War breaks out be- 
tween England and Spain. Oglethorpe undertakes 
an Expedition against Florida. The Result of it. 
Anecdotes 173 

CHAPTER XX. 
A Spanish Expedition undertaken against Frederica. 
Its Defence is vigorously sustained by Oglethorpe. 
Progress of the Attack. Failure of the Expedition. 184 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA 



OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Early Voyages along the Coast of the Southern States, 
Patent granted to Walter Raleigh^ by i^ueen Elizabeth. 
Exploring Voyage under the Patronage of Raleigh. 
Discoveiies made. Acquaintance formed ivith the JVa- 
tives on the Coast of JVorth Carolina. The Voyagers 
return to England. 

It must be well kno\\^n to my young readers, 
that the first permanent English settlement made 
within the limits of the present United States was 
at Jamestown, in Virginia. This was in 1607, 
thirteen years previous to the landing of the Puritans 
at Plymouth, of which I have told them already. 

But prior, also, to the Jamestown settlement, 
others, though not permanent ones, had taken 
place along the coast. As early as 1584, Queen 
Elizabeth of England, in consequence of discover- 
ies made in America by various voyagers, who had 



8 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

sailed under her authority, granted a patent to Sir 
Walter Raleigh, of a vast tract of land upon this con- 
tinent, known and unknown, comprehended between 
the 34th and the 45th degrees of north latitude. 

This patent purported to authorize Raleigh, and 
"his heirs and assigns forever," to discover and 
colonize all such remote and barbarous lands as 
were not actually possessed by any Christian prince 
or people. All such lands and colonies, however, 
were to be forever subject to the English crown, 
and to pay to it a fifth part of all gold and silver 
which should be obtained. The English had, at 
this time, great expectations from the wealth of 
America ; for the discoveries and adventures of the 
Spanish and Portuguese, in the southern half of the 
continent, had inflamed the avaricfe and the ambi- 
tion of all Europe. 

Raleigh availed himself, without delay, of his 
patent. But he was a gallant courtier, in high fa- 
vor with his queen, and he cherished hopes of a, 
better fortune in England than he could ever eX' 
pect to make by exploring the wilds of America, 
To prevent the necessity, therefore, of embarking 
for the latter country himself, he procured the as< 
sistance of a company of Lc^ndon merchants and 
others. With the aid of their funds, he was not 
long in fitting out two small vessels. 

These were plentifully supplied with necessaries 
of all kinds, and put under the command of Captains 
Philip Armidas and Arthur Barlow, famous adven- 



EARLY HISTORY pF VIRGINIA. 9 

turers at that period. They set sail from the river 
Thames, on the 27th of April, 1584. Having 
touched at the Canary Islands and the West Indies 
in their course, they approached the coast of Flori- 
da on the 2d of July, and soon found themselves in 
shoal water. Land was not yet visible ; but a deli- 
cious fragrance, with which the western breeze 
came loaded, announced both the nearness and the 
direction of the shore. On the fourth day after this, 
they saw land. 

The general name of Florida had been given, 
previous to this time, to the whole extent of conti- 
nent from cape Florida to cape Breton. It is diffi- 
cult to ascertain precisely, therefore, what point of 
land our adventurers first came in sight of It is 
recorded, however, that, after coasting 120 miles, 
they cast anchor at Wococon island, lying between 
cape Hatteras and cape Fear. This was described 
to be about twenty miles in length, and six in breadth, 
covered with wood, and abounding with sea-fowl. 
This is supposed to have been one of those islands 
which lie at the mouth of Albemarle sound, on the 
coast of North Carolina; probably the island of 
Ocracock. 

The first landing-place, says the writer of the 
voyage, whose journal I chiefly follow, was sandy 
and low, but so full of grapes, that the very surge 
of the sea sometimes overflowed them. Moreover, 
they found such plenty in all places, we are told, 
alike on the strand, the green soil, hills and plains, 

A* 



10 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

on every little shrub, and even climbing the tops of 
tall cedar-trees, " that they did thinke in the world 
were not the like abundance." 

Here a party went on shore, and passed by the 
sea-side towards the tops of the next hills. There 
they could view the sea on both sides, and the island 
from one end to the other. Discharging their mus- 
kets, by way of amusement, a large flock of white 
cranes rose near by them, " with such a cry as if an 
army of men had shouted altogether." 

Furthermore, it seems the island had many good- 
ly cedars in its valleys ; and deer, conies and fowl 
in incredible abundance ; and " pynes, cypres, sax- 
efras, the lentisk-tree that beareth mastick, and 
many other of excellent smell and qualitie." My 
readers may be amused with these specimens of the 
quaint style of this ancient writer. They will recol- 
lect that it is nearly two centuries and a half since 
he wrote. 

They saw none of the native islanders till the 
third day, when three of them appeared in small 
boats. One of these went on shore, and the sailors 
rowed after him from the vessels. He waited for 
them without the least appearance of fear, and en- 
tertained them with his conversation for some time. 
But of this they understood, of course, not a word. 

He even ventured aboard the long-boat of the sail- 
ors ; and they rewarded his good humor and curiosi- 
ty by giving him a shirt and hat, which he liked 
very well ; and their wine and meat he liked still 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. H 

better. After he had examined the sailors, and the 
boat, and every thing on board of it sufficiently, he 
went away in his own boat. 

Within a quarter of a mile, he loaded it with fish from 
the sea. With these he came again to the landingr 
place, in the course of an hour or two, and there divid- 
ed them into two heaps upon the sand, pointing and 
making gestures to express that one part belonged to 
one ship, and the other part to the other, and so de- 
parted. This, without doubt, was intended as a 
grateful return for the sailors' presents to himself. 

On the following day, 40 or 50 Indians approached 
the ships. They left their canoes at a small dis- 
tance in a cove, and presented themselves on the 
beach. Granganimo,» their sachem, was among 
them. His rank app6a^ by h^g deportment ; his 
name was learnt afterwards. He took his seat 
upon a long mat brought by some of his party ; and 
four of his chief men seated themselves upon the 
other end of the mat. The rest of the Indians kept 
at a respectful distance. 

The masters of the two ships now landed, with 
some of their crews, under arms. They approached 
the sachem; and he, without giving the small- 
est symptom of fear, made signs for them to seat 
themselves near him. He then stroked his own 
head and breast, and afterwards theirs, gently, to 
signify his desire of mutual confidence and friend- 
ship. After this, he made a long speech, which 
they endeavored in vain to understand. 



13 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

They now gave him various presents, which he 
received thankfully. Others were given to his four 
attendants ; but the old sachem took them all from 
their hands, making signs, vv'ith a dignified air, that 
every thing of this kind belonged of right to himself. 
The Indians manifested a great respect for him, not 
one of them, except the four attendants, speaking or 
sitting in his presence. Pie described himself to 
the English, as well as he could, to be a brother of 
an Indian king. The latter had been shot in two 
places through the body with arrows, he said, in a 
conflict with his mortal enemy, and nov/ lay at his 
chief town, six days' journey distant. 

Granganimo came again a day or two after this ; 
and the English entertained Mm vvith an exhibition 
of their various furniture onboard the vessels. He 
was amazingly delighted v/ith a pewter dish, among 
other articles of the same kind. For this he gladly 
gave the sailors twenty deer-skins, then worth 20 
crowns. He then made a hole in the dish, and hung 
it about his neck for a breast-plate. Yie may pre- 
sume that no civilized hero v/as ever prouder of 
shield and spear, than this simple sachem was 
of his platter. 

He was still more pleased with a bright copper 
kettle, which he seemed to consider a miracle of 
art. He willingly gave 50 more deer-skins for it. 
This was too heavy and too large for his head, or he 
would have ivorn it for a helmet, without doubt. 
" Much other truck (trade) we had," says the writer 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 13 

before quoted, " and two days after the chief came 
aboord, and did eat and drinke with vs very mer- 
rily." 

Not long after, he brought his wife and children. 
** They were but of meane stature, but well fauoured 
and very bashful." The wife wore a long coat of 
leather, we are further informed, and a band of 
white coral about her forehead. In her ears were 
bracelets of pearl, hanging down about a yard, "of 
the bignesse of great pease." The rest of the wo- 
men had pendents of copper, and the sachem wore 
five or six in each ear. Both sexes decked and 
dressed themselves alike, excepting that the women 
wore their hair long on both sides, and the men on 
one only. Their complexion is said to have been 
yellow, probably copper-colored, and their hair gen- 
erally black; though there were some children 
among them who had " very fay re chesnut-coloured 
hayre." 

These women having formed an acquaintance 
with the English, and going away well pleased, the 
fame of the new-comers soon spread over the island. 
Large numbers of Indians came from all parts, with 
skins, coral, and various kinds of dyes, to trade with 
the sailors. But whenever Granganimo was present, 
none of the Indians dared to trade but himself, and 
those who were authorized to wear red copper on 
their heads, as he did. These were his chief men, 
probably. 

Whenever he came, moreover, if it happened to 



14 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

be in the night, he would signify, by a certain num- 
ber of fires, that he came with so many boats. The 
object of this was, that the Enghsh might know who 
was coming, and what was his strength, and not 
be alarmed with the idea of a sudden assault from 
the natives. Each of these Indian boats was but 
one great log, burnt out, or hollowed out in some 
other way, in the form of a trough. 

The sachem was much pleased with a set of Eng- 
lish armor, and he oifered a bag of pearl in ex- 
change for it. This was refused, however ; " pre- 
tending not to set any value upon the pearl," says 
our writer, " that wee might the better learn where 
it grew." Perhaps another reason was, that they 
did not wish the savages to learn the use of the 
English arms. 

Granganimo became quite a favorite with the 
English. He was not only civil, as we have seen, 
but honest, and true to his promises. They trusted 
his word often, and he would always come at the 
time and place agreed upon. He usually sent, eve- 
ry day, to the ships, a brace of ducks, conies, rab- 
bits, fish, and sometimes melons, walnuts, cucum- 
bers, " pease and diuers rootes." The natives are 
said to have raised three crops of corn yearly, plant- 
ing it in May, June and July, and reaping it in 
July, August and September, or a month later. 

The climate was described as delightful, and the 
" soyle " as the most plentiful, sweet, wholesome 
and fruitful to be conceived of As a proof of its 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRpiNIA. 15 

Strength, Captain Armidas records, that some peas 
which he planted were fourteen inches high ten 
days after making their appearance above ground. 

Soon after this, the captain, with seven of his 
men, set out upon a short voyage of discovery, and 
ventured in a boat up the river Occam, as it was 
called by the natives. This must have been Pam- 
lico sound. On the second evening after sailing, 
the party arrived at the isle of Roanoke, near the 
mouth of Albemarle sound, and about seven leagues 
from the harbor where they first landed. 

The village of Granganimo, situated on the north- 
ern extremity of this island, consisted of nine 
houses, built of cedar, and fortified with circles of 
palisades. The sachem himself was absent when 
the English arrived there with their boat ; but his 
wife received them with all possible civility. 

Their boat she ordered to be drawn on shore, 
that it might not be injured by the surge ; the oars, 
for better security, were taken to her own house ; 
and the English, by her orders, were conveyed from 
the boat on the backs of the natives. When they 
entered the second room, of which there were five 
in her house, she caused her guests to sit down by a 
great fire, to dry their clothes ; for it was raining. 

Some of her women then washed their stockings, 
and others their feet, in warm water, she herself 
being actively employed, meanwhile, in providing a 
banquet. When their clothes were dry, she con- 
ducted them into a third apartment. Here a wide 



16 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

board had been put up horizontally along the wall, 
for a table. This was covered with venison, roast- 
ed fish, melons, boiled roots, and fruits of various 
kinds, and corn, prepared as it is to this day in the 
Southern States, and called ' homony.' 

The English seamen set themselves upon this ar- 
ray of good things with an appetite which did hon- 
or to the cookery, and gave the lady of the house 
great pleasure. Whilst they were still eating, some 
of her people came into the room, from mere curi- 
osity, with their bows and arrows. The English sus- 
pected treachery, and flew to their arms. The good 
hostess perceived their suspicions at once, and or- 
dered the bows to be taken from her people, their ar- 
rows to be broken, and themselves to be driven out of 
the house for their rudeness in entering without leave. 

In the evening, the English thought it prudent to 
return to their boat ; and, putting off at a small dis- 
tance from the shore, they lay there at anchor. 
Their kind hostess seemed to be grieved at their 
apparent want of confidence, but pressed them no 
further. She sent their supper to the shore, half- 
boiled as it was. Finding that the English still feared 
some surprise, she sent a number of men and thirty 
women to sit upon the strand all night as a guard. 

She also sent the English five mats, as a protec- 
tion against the rain, and did all she could to per- 
suade them to return to her house, but to no pur- 
pose. They returned towards their ships the next 
morning, the island of Roanoke having thus been 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 17 

the limit of their present discoveries. They pro- 
cured no information of importance from the na- 
tives, but a confused account of a ship wrecked 
upon that coast some twenty or thirty years before. 
The two ships returned to England about the middle 
of September, carrying over two of the natives, Man- 
teo and Wanchese, who voluntarily accompanied 
them. 



CHAPTER 11. 

$ 

Effects of the Voyage upon public Opinion in England. 
J^Pame given to the neivly-explored Counti^. Excursions 
made along the, American Coasts, hy the new Colonists 
under Governor Lane. Anecdotes of the JVatives. 

The accounts which these voyagers gave of 
their adventures and observations in America pro- 
duced a great effect in England. It soon came to 
be generally understood that a wonderful country 
and a wonderful people had been discovered. It 
was said that a fragrant and delicious smell had 
breathed out upon the vessels long before they had 
reached the American shore. Then the woods 
were full of game. It appeared, moreover, that ev- 
ery bush was loaded down with grapes, like a Lon- 
don porter. A savage could fill his canoe with fish 
in an hour in the sound. The natives were hospita- 
ble and inoffensive. Pearls had been seen in some 
places ; and the sachems wore jewels in their ears 
2* 



18 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

and noses, nobody knew of what value. " What an 
amazing country!" was the word now among all 
classes. Many entertained hopes that vast quanti- 
ties of gold and silver would yet be discovered. 

Queen Elizabeth was greatly pleased with this 
addition to her dominions. The new country was 
called Virginia by her direction — a name long ap- 
plied to every part of this continent claimed by the 
English nation. Soon after the return of the two 
ships, Sir Walter Raleigh was elected a member of 
parliament from Devonshire. He was also knight- 
ed by the queen ; and his patent was confirmed by 
an act of parliament. 

Seven ships were immediately prepared for a sec- 
ond expedition, and placed under the command of 
Ralph Lane and Sir Richard Granville. This little 
squadron reached the American coast on the 26th 
of July, 1585, and dropped their anchors outside of 
the bar, at Wococon. Lane and Granville, with 
50 or 60 officers and men, immediately crossed the 
sound in boats, to explore the country. 

Manteo, the native, had returned from England 
with this second expedition, and was now of essen- 
tial service to the English. His knowledge of the 
coast made him useful as a pilot, and his knowl- 
edge of the Indian languages as an interpreter; 
and, besides, his attachment to the English, and his 
zeal in their cause, very much facilitated a firee and 
friendly intercourse between them and the natives. 

Under his guidance, they made several excursions 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 19 

upon the coast. They discovered, among other 
things, an Indian town near the mouth of Pamlico 
river, and another near the mouth of the Neuse. 
They next ventured about 80 leagues, as they sup- 
posed, to the southward. In this direction, the ut- 
most limits of their discoveries was an Indian place 
called Socotan, near the present site of Beaufort, 
where they were civilly entertained by Wingina, the 
brother of Granganimo. 

Here the water became so full of flats and shoals, 
that the English pinnaces could go no farther. As 
they had but one small boat, and this could carry 
but four oars and fifteen men, with provisions for a 
few days, they concluded to turn back. Some of the 
party proceeded to Wococon by the shortest course ; 
but Granville, with the rest, returned to Aquasco- 
sack, a town on the waters of the Neuse. 

His object there was to demand a silver cup, 
which was stolen from him when he had first visited 
that town on his late circuit. He obtained the prom- 
ise of its return, but the promise was not kept; and 
the Indians, apprehending danger, in consequence 
of his expected anger, fled to the woods. This 
drew upon them the indiscriminate vengeance of 
the English commander. The town of Aquascosack 
was burnt, and the standing corn and other crops 
utterly destroyed. This was a rash proceeding, to 
speak of it in the mildest terms ; and it afterwards 
cost the English settlers very dear, by enraging the 
natives. 



so Early history of Virginia. 

After this outrage, Granville sailed to the island 
of Roanoke, where h6 left behind him 108 persons, 
as the foundation of a colon>\ Mr. Lane was ap- 
pointed governor ; and Armidas, one of the captains 
in the former voyage, was appointed admiral. 
Thomas Heriot, a famous mathematician, and par- 
ticular friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, also remained 
with the colony. 

While the fleet lay at anchor off Point Hatteras, 
Granganimo paid his last visit to the English, in 
company with Manteo. Soon after, Granville 
sailed for England. On the 18th of September, he 
arrived at Plymouth, bringing in with him a rich 
Spanish prize, which he had the good fortune to 
take on his passage. 

The chief employment of the colony at Roanoke, 
meanwhile, was to explore the country for the pur- 
pose of acquiring a knowledge of its geography and 
its productions. Governor Lane made various ex- 
cursions along the coast during the fall and winter. 
He was accompanied by Mr. Wythe, a skilful 
English painter, sent out by Raleigh, to take 
sketches of the situation of the country^ and the 
figures and fashions of the natives. 

To the north, Lane advanced as far as the territo- 
ries of the Chesapeakes, an Indian nation seated on 
a small river, now called Elizabeth, which falls into 
the great bay of Chesapeake, below Norfolk. To 
the north-west, he went up Albemarle Sound and 
the river Chowan, more than 100 miles, to the set- 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 21 

tlements of a nation of Indians called the Chowan- 
okes. These lived a little beyond the fork of the 
river, where one branch now takes the name of 
Nottoway, and the other of Meherrin. 

But as Governor Lane undertook to effect his 
purposes among the natives by force always, instead 
of persuasion, he met with indifferent success. The 
Indians had by this time become a little jealous of 
the colonists ; and the best friend of the latter, 
Granganimo, died in the spring of this year, 1586. 

His brother, Wingina, succeeded to the govern- 
ment of his subjects, according to the Indian order 
of sovereignty in that country. Wingina immedi- 
ately removed from Socotan to the mouth of Albe- 
marle Sound. He had never expressed either hos- 
tility or attachment to the English ; but their recent 
ravages at Aquascosack had made him their mortal 
enemy. 

The governor tarried so long among the Chowan- 
okes, that Monatenon, the Chowanoke king, became 
uneasy, and very desirous of getting rid of him. In- 
stead of attempting it by force, however, he cun- 
ningly endeavored to work upon the governor's cu- 
riosity and avarice. He gave him to understand, 
that a powerful king resided upon an island to the 
northward, (in James river,) in whose dominions 
pearls could be obtained without number, and of great 
value. This island, he added, was not more than three 
days' journey distant ; and he offered guides, if the 
governor should be disposed to make that king a visit. 



23 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

But this he declined. He was not in search of 

pearls, but of gold. Monatenon, not discouraged 
by his first failure, then described the river Roanoke 
as the certain road to great discoveries. Moratock 
river was said to rise 30 or 40 days' journey above 
the town of that name, from a great rock ; and that 
rock was so near the ocean, that salt water was 
dashed over it by every storm, so as to mingle with 
the fresh water in the river. 

Lane has left a journal of his proceedings at this 
time, and he says that he made up his mind to 
go and test the truth of these stories, taking with 
him " two wherries and fortie persons." Shiko, 
the son of Monatenon, had increased his eagerness 
by telling him of valuable copper-mines on the river 
Roanoke, of which the ore yielded two fifths of 
pure copper. 

The governor was confident, from all these ac- 
counts, that he had discovered the " South Sea," as 
the ocean on the western coast of this continent 
was then called. Of the existence of copper, more- 
over, he thought there could be little doubt ; though 
he rather conceived that gold was the metal they 
described, from its being washed down by torrents. 
He resolved, at all events, to go in quest of these 
treasures. South Sea and all. 

By some strange abuse of power, while staying 
with the Chovvanokes, he had seized upon Monate- 
non ; and he now held him prisoner in the midst of 
his tribe. As that chief could bring 3000 bowmen 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 23 

into battle, this was certainly a rash step ; but, as 
his enmity was now excited, it was still more im- 
prudent, perhaps, to set him free. The governor 
did so, however, and then made his son Shiko pris- 
oner in his stead. 

He was now ready to ascend the river ; but, being 
unacquainted with the navigation of it, he sent to 
the coast for a pilot, Wingina, his old enemy, pro- 
fited by this delay, to inform the Moratock and 
Mangoack Indians on the Roanoke, that Lane was 
coming to destroy them. They believed the story, 
and removed their families and corn from the banks 
of the river. 

The pilot having arrived, the governor now as- 
cended the river with his two boats and 40 men ; 
but, as he had depended on the Indians for a supply 
of provisions, the party " as narrowly escaped staru- 
ing in that discouerie as ever men did." 

Lane did not see an Indian for three days after 
starting ; but his people would not return, though 
their provisions were soon reduced to a pint of corn 
per man, and two mastiff dogs, which they were 
compelled to eat, having boiled them with sassafras, 
before their return to Roanoke. On the evening of 
the third day, some Indians from the bank shouted 
for Manteo, who was with the English party. Man- 
teo put on his armor, and a shower of arrows soon 
apprized the governor that his enemies were around 
him. He landed, and pursued the Indians until 
dark, but without overtaking them. 



34 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

The next morning, Lane rapidly descended the 
river, which they had been three days rowing np. 
*' Here," says the governor, in his journal, " our 
dogs' pottage stood vs in good stead, for we had 
nothing els." The next day, it seems, they had 
nothing at all to eat, and were wind-bound besides. 
But the day after, they came to an Indian town 
called Chippanum, and there took the liberty to fur- 
nish themselves with a good stock of fish from the 
fish-weirs of the Indians, who had fled. They 
reached Roanoke the next day, still firmly per- 
suaded that wonderful discoveries might have been 
made in the South Sea, up the Roanoke, had there 
been fewer savages to fight, and more " dog pot- 
tage " to live upon. 



CHAPTER HI. 

Conspiracy formed hy the Indian King Wingina against 
the new Colony. It is discovered and disclosed to the 
Whites hy a young Indian. Wingina is killed. Fam- 
ine in the Colony. They are relieved hy the arrival of 
Sir Francis Drake. T/iey emharkfor England. Eng- 
lish Vessels arrive on the Coast. 

The governor returned in good time ; for while 
he had been cruising among the Moratocks, a re- 
port had reached the Roanoke colony that the In- 
dians had killed him. Wingina, the Indian king, 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 25 

believed this story, and he resolved to starve out the 
colony, by removing his own people from the island, 
neglecting to plant corn, and refusing to trade. But 
the return of the governor with his prisoner Shiko, 
made a temporary change in the projects of the In- 
dian king. 

This favorable disposition was increased by the 
conduct of Monatenon, the father of Shiko, who 
sent Okisko, a subordinate prince, to do homage to 
the English, and through them to dueen Elizabeth. 
Okisko came accordingly to the colony with twenty- 
four attendants, and with presents of pearl.* 

But the good effect of this embassy upon Wingi- 
na did not last long. His father, Ensenore, who 
had been friendly to the English, died upon the 
20th of Apri\, l.*;S6 ; and Wingina took this oppor- 
tunity to compleio ^n Indian conspiracy which he 
had long been devising. Great preparations were 
made, as he pretended, to celebrate his father's 
death in a splendid manner. By the 10th of June, 
1500 warriors of several tribes had assembled at 
his own town, Dasamonquipo. 

It was concerted, that half this force should lie in 
ambush near the English settlement, to cut off strag- 
glers; the rest were to come out and assault the 
settlement itself, at a given signal, by fire. Twenty 
of Wingina's best men were appointed to fall upon 
the governor's house, and set fire to the reeds of 

* The pearl so frequently sjjoken of by the voyagers we suppose 
to have been only polished sea-shells. 

3 B 



26 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

which the roof was composed. Their expectation 
seemed to be, as the governor himself records, that 
the fire would occasion him to run out " so nak&d 
and amazed, that they might without danger 
knocke out his braines." 

A similar arrangement was made to surprise Mr. 
Heriot, and various others of the colony. In fact, 
every house was to have been fired at the same in- 
stant. In the mean time, the Indians were to sell 
nothing to the English, but to employ themselves 
in spoiling their fish-wiers in the night-time, and do- 
ing whatever other mischief might be in their pow- 
er. These measures, it was supposed, would oblige 
the colonists to disperse in search of food ; and this 
was all the savages desired. But 50 long as ten 
English remained in company, one hiwidred Indians, 
says the governor, in his jourraL would not venture 
to attack them. 

Accordingly, as the famme increased in the colo- 
ny. Captain Stafford was sent off to a part of the 
coast called Croatan, with twenty men, " to feede 
himselfe, and see if he could cspie any sayle passe 
the coast." Mr. Predeox was sent to Hatteras with 
ten more, for the same purpose; and other small 
parties scattered about upon the main land, in vari- 
ous directions, to live upon roots and oysters. 

Wingina still remained at his usual residence on 
the main land. Some of his associates, however, 
had crossed to the island, to take the lead in the 
projected massacre. The storm was, in fact, just 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 27 

teady to burst upon the colony, when Shiko, the 
generous son of Monatenon, who had been recently 
treated so well as to have formed an attachment for 
the English, discovered the designs of Wingina by 
some fortunate accident, and disclosed them to the 
governor. 

The governor now began to plot in his turn. He 
sent a message to Wingina, that he proposed going 
to Croatan the next day, to look for ships that were 
expected on the coast, and that he should call upon 
him (Wingina) in the morning, to get some corn, 
and people to assist him in catching fish. Wingina 
was cunning, however, arid he returned word to the 
governor, that to spare him so much travel and 
trouble, he would himself come to Roanoke, and 
pay the colony a visit. 

Meanwhile he delayed some days, with the view 
of collecting his whole force of Indians. This the 
governor soon suspected, and, not liking the idea of 
quite so much company of this description, he de- 
termined to have the start of Wingina. He imme- 
diately sent a party to seize upon the canoes of those 
Indians who had landed upon the island. With 
these a skirmish ensued, and, several of them hav- 
ing been slain, the rest fled into the woods. 

The governor crossed over to Dasamonquipo, 
the next morning, and sent Wingina word he was 
going to Croatan, and wished to settle a little busi- 
ness with Mm on his way. Wingina, finding it im- 
possible to escape, put as good a face upon the mat- 



28 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

ter as possible, and waited for the governor's arrival 
at his own residence. The moment the latter came 
in sight, he gave a concerted signal to his soldiers, 
and immediately the Indians were surrounded and 
fired upon. Wingina was shot in the head with a 
pistol. He dropped as if dead ; but, watching his 
opportunity, soon after started up, and ran for 
the woods like a deer. Not one of the English 
party could overtake him ; but an Irish boy, at last, 
shot him a second time, in the back, and so he was 
finally killed. 

The colony were still in fear of starving ; but 
seven days after the death of Wingina, Captain 
Stafford sent word to the governor, that he had de- 
scried a fleet of twenty-three sail off Croatan. This 
proved to be an English squadron, under Sir Fran- 
cis Drake. He had been instructed to visit the 
colony on his return from an expedition against the 
Spanish West Indies. 

The admiral cast anchor in the open road, for no 
large vessel had crossed the bar at that time. He 
supplied the colony with a vessel of seventy tons, 
and with four months' provisions for one hundred 
men. He furnished them, also, with two pinnaces, 
and a sufficient number of able seamen. But the 
vessel, with the men and provisions on board, was 
soon after driven to sea by a terrible storm, and 
never was heard of afterwards. 

The admiral now offered the colonists a second 
Tessel of double the size of the first, with a good 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 29 

commander, and a stock of provisions. But the 
ship could not be kept in any place of safety ; and 
the colonists were by this time entirely discouraged. 
One and all, therefore, they concluded to return to 
England with the admiral. They sailed, accord- 
ingly, on the 19th of June, 1586. 

A ship of one hundred tons, loaded with stores, 
arrived on the coast a few days after the fleet had 
sailed. This vessel had been fitted out by Sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh, for the relief of the colony. The captain 
and crew spent some time in looking along the coast, 
and up the rivers, for the colony, of whose departure 
they had heard nothing. But finding no traces of 
them, they returned, in the course of the summer, 
to England. 

By a singular coincidence, about a fortnight after 
this, Sir Richard Granville arrived at Hatteras with 
three ships, also from England, and well supplied, 
like the one just mentioned, with necessaries for 
the colony. He commenced a new search for the 
English settlement; and this, of course, was equally 
fi-uitless with the former one. Finding their habita- 
tions on Roanoke, at last, abandoned and desolate, 
and being unwilling yet to despair of a settlement 
which he himself had first planted, he finally deter- 
mined to land fifty men. These fifty were left 
upon the island, supplied with provisions for two 
years, and Sir Richard then sailed for England. 

It may be amusing to my young readers to men- 
tion here among so many graver matters, that the 
3* 



30 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

use of tobacco, now so general throughout the civil- 
ized world, first became fashionable at this period. 
It was a native weed on the " Virginian " coast, as 
the southern country was called ; and Mr. Lane and 
his associates carried some of it to England. They 
had learned the use of it from the natives. 

By the example of Sir Walter Raleigh particular- 
ly, it soon became a favorite luxury at the English 
court, and afterwards among the higher and lower 
classes generally, as it is in a considerable degree at 
this day. Several good stories are told of its first in- 
troduction. 

It is said, that when Sir Walter first began the 
use of it at court, he took the liberty to lay a wager 
with the queen, who treated him with great kind- 
ness and familiarity, that he would determine exact- 
ly the weight of the smoke which went off in a pipe 
of tobacco. 

This he did by first weighing the tobacco, and 
then carefully preserving and weighing the ashes ; 
the queen having readily granted that what should 
be wanting of the original weight, must be evapo- 
rated in smoke. She paid the wager, according to 
her promise, in hard, yellow coin ; saying, with a 
smile, as she paid it, that she had heard of many 
laborers in the fire, who had turned their gold into 
smoke, but Raleigh was the first who had turned 
his smoke into gold. 

There is a story of a country servant of Sir Wal- 
ter's bringing him a tankard of ale and nutmeg in 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 31 

his study, as he was intently engaged at his book, 
and, at the same time, smoking his favorite pipe of 
tobacco. The servant had never before seen this 
process, and the smoke, which streamed from his 
master's mouth and pipe, alarmed the poor fellow well 
nigh out of his wits. lie threw the ale into Sir Wal- 
ter's face, in order to extinguish the flames, as he af- 
terwards said ; and ran down stairs, alarming the 
family, and shouting out, like a madman, that his 
master would be burnt to ashes, if they did not has- 
ten to his relief. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A second Colony sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh. Arrival 
on the American Coast. Fruitless Search for the 
Jl/ly Colonists left at Crontan by Sir Richard Gran- 
ville in his last Voyage. Supposed Fate of these 
Colonists. The neiv Colony settles in an Island off 
Cape Hatteras. Return of the Vessels to England. 
Mr. White goes to England as Agent of the Colony. 
The Potato cairied over to Ireland at this Time. 

Not yet discouraged by his failures, Raleigh still 
adhered to his original purpose of planting an Amer- 
ican colony. In the spring of 1587, therefore, he 
fitted out three vessels, and instructed the passen- 
gers, who went out on board of them, to found "the 
city of Raleigh in Virginia." Women and children 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 




Sir Walter Raleigh and Servant. 



EARL\ HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 33 

went also, and the fleet was to touch at the West 
Indies to get cattle and fruit-trees. 

I may mention here, that though the city just 
named never was founded, according to the hopes 
of Sir Walter, yet the legislature of North Carolina, 
two hundred years afterwards, called their seat of 
government by his name. Raleigh is still the capi- 
tal of that state ; and the honor seems to be no more 
than justice to the memory of the gallant adven- 
turer. 

Sir Walter gave particular instructions to the new 
colonists not to settle at Roanoke island, but to pro- 
ceed to the waters of the Chesapeake, recently dis- 
covered by Governor Lane. There, at the mouth 
of some river, they might build them a city, and re- 
tain one or two of the vessels, to be employed in 
collecting provisions and keeping the Indians in 
check. The commander of the largest ship, Simon 
Fernando, was to touch at Roanoke only for the 
purpose of taking off the fifty men left there by Sir 
Richard Granville. 

It is not known that this Fernando was either an 
open or a secret enemy to Sir Walter ; but he cer- 
tainly did a great deal to thwart the designs of the 
colony. In the first place, he put into a bay on 
the coast of Portugal, and left one of the three ves- 
sels there in distress. After this, though he passed 
by in sight of the West Indian island Hispaniola, 
he refused to stop for live stock, and other things, as 
directed. 



84 EARLY HISTOHY OF VIRGINIA. 

The two vessels now remaining, arrived at cape 
Hatteras on the 22d of July. White, the appoint- 
ed governor of the future city, immediately embarked 
again in the smaller vessel, with fifty picked men, 
to search for those fifty colonists, who had been left 
on the isle of Roanoke in the last voyage of Gran- 
ville. They had no sooner weighed anchor, how 
ever, than the seamen were ordered by Fernando 
to bring back neither the fifty planters, nor any 
other person whatever, but Mr. White and two or 
three of his attendants. He intended, he said, 
to sail immediately for England, and must needs be 
in great haste. 

Governor White remonstrated, but in vain. The 
seamen were under Fernando's orders, and were 
obliged to obey him. The party landed that evening- 
on Roanoke island. Here they found a fort construct- 
ed, apparently, by the last colonists of Granville; 
but of the colonists themselves tliey could see 
nothing. They set themselves to repairing the 
abandoned houses on the island, though with heavy 
hearts. They were somewhat cheered, in a few 
days, by the arrival of the vessel which had been 
loft on the coast of Portugal in distress. 

Six days after their arrival, one of the party, 
George Howe, was killed by the Indians, as he was 
roving about the island, for the purpose of fish- 
ing. One Stafford was now sent to Croatan with 
twenty men, guided by the Indian Manteo, who still 
remained with the English. Their object was to 



EAULY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. Q3 

ascertain the fate of the unfortunate colonists of 
Granville. 

The Croatan Indians, at first, made a show 
of fighting; but as soon as they knew Manteo, 
who was well acquainted with some of them, they 
threw down their arms, and desired that some token 
might be given them to be known by. It seems 
that, a year or two before this, Governor Lane had 
wounded one of their number, by some rash mis- 
take, and this poor fellow was still living with them, 
a miserable cripple. They wished for some such 
token, that the English might not again take them 
for foes, and treat them as such. 

In answer to the anxious inquiries of Mr. White, 
concerning the fate of the fifty colonists, they in- 
formed him that these Englishmen had been sud- 
denly assaulted by three hundred Aquascosack and 
other Indians. (My readers will recollect the burn- 
ing of their town by Governor Lane.) The Atha- 
pescows insinuated themselves among the colonists 
as friends ; and the first warning which the latter 
had of their stratagem, was the murder of one of 
tlieiv number by an Indian. 

The other settlers immediately fled to their houses', 
and barricadoed them. But the savages set them on 
fire at once ; and, the reeds of which the roofs were 
composed soon making the poor people within un- 
comfortable, they rushed out, and forced a passage 
through the ranks of the Indians, with whatever 
weapons they could lay hands upon. One of theij 



36 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

number was shot in tlie mouth, and dropped dead. 
A savage, also, was killed ; and several were wound- 
ed on each side. 

The colonists escaped to the water-side, however 
and pushed off in their boats. They had hardly 
rowed a quarter of a mile towards Hatteras, along 
the shore, before they came suddenly upon four more 
of their party, who were gathering oysters on the 
shoals. These they took in with them, and rowed 
on till they reached a small island near cape Hat- 
teras, where they landed. Here they remained but 
a few days ; and the Croatan Indians had heard or 
seen nothing of them from that time. 

There seems to be but little doubt, that these un- 
fortunate men met with a violent death from the 
hands of the savages. The latter had been irri- 
tated by the burning of Aquascosack, and the 
blame of this rash proceeding was attributed by 
them generally to the white men, without much inqui- 
ry as to the individuals particularly concerned in it, 

ISIr. White sent word to the Aquascosack and 
Dasamonquipo Indians to come and meet him at a 
certain place. He wished to be sure that they 
had destroyed the colonists, and, if so, to punish 
them. He waited for tliem, accordingly, a week ; 
and then, being confirmed in his suspicions by their 
delaying to visit him, he grew impatient for revenge, 
and set out, about midnight, to visit tli^m. He took 
with him Captain Stafford and twenty-four select 
men, as eager and rash as himself. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 37 

Rapidly and silently they pursued their voyage 
along the shore in the darkness of night. They 
reached Dasamonquipo about day-l)reak. They 
immediately landed, and surrounded the little village 
unobserved by the savages, who were sleeping or 
sitting about their wigwam fires. They . now fell 
upon these poor wretches with great fury, discharg- 
ing their muskets, and raising a loud shout. 

The Indians were completely surprised, and fled 
into the swamps, like foxes. One of them was shot ; 
and the English were now quite sure of having their 
expected revenge, by murdering the whole party. 
But, by some mere accident, — that of meeting with 
a savage who knew Stafford, I believe, — they found 
out that these Indians were their Croatan friends, 
instead of the blood-thirsty enemies for whom they 
had rashly and most unhappily taken them. 

The Indians had come hither from Croatan, it 
seems, to gather the corn of the Dasamonquipo tribe, 
having understood that the latter had fled into the 
back country for fear of White's party. Some of the 
whites were more vexed than grieved with this tame 
result of their heroic enterprise. Manteo imputed 
it to the folly of the Dasamonquipoes, in retreating 
before they were hurt. Mr. White apologized civ- 
illy to the Croatans, for having murdered one of 
their number by a sad oversight. His twenty-four 
men, meanwhile, contented themselves with twisting 
off* the ripe ears of the Indian corn, with which hav- 
ing stuffed their pockets, they valiantly marched off. 
4 



38 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

On the 13th of August, Manteo was baptized, 
and honored with some new title, in reward for his 
long attachment to the English. On the 18th of 
the same month, the first child was born among the 
English colonists of this country. This was a 
daughter of Mrs. Ananias Dare, who was a daugh- 
ter of Governor White. 

One hundred persons, who were pleased with the 
appearance of the country, and not discouraged by 
the fate of their predecessors, were left, as a colony, 
on one of the islands near cape Hatteras. The re- 
mainder, with their vessels, were now ready to sail 
for England, when a controversy arose, as to which 
of the officers of the new colony, of whom there were 
twelve, should go to England as an agent for the rest. 
All but one declined going; and, unluckily, the 
whole company agreed that this one was the most un- 
fit man among them. They declined his offer, there- 
fore, and persuaded Mr. White to undertake the 
management of their business in England. He ar- 
rived at Portsmouth in the fall of 1587. 

The fleet is said to have touched at a port in 
Ireland, on its way, and to have left some potatoes 
there ; which have since become so generally both 
a necessary and a luxury with the Irish, This 
plant, like tobacco, was a native root of the Ameri- 
can soil. 

On his arrival in England, Mr. White exerted 
himself, as requested by the colony, in procuring 
them supplies. But he met with great difficulties. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 39 

The English were engaged, at this time, in a war 
with the Spaniards, and were making all possible 
preparations, and pressing every spare man and vessel 
in the kingdom, for defence against the famous " In- 
vincible Armada." 

Sir Walter Raleigh, however, with the aid of his 
friend Granville, at last fitted out two small vessels. 
In these Mr. White put to sea at Biddeford, on the 
21st of April, 1588. But the voyage was rendered 
fruitless by the avarice of the commanders. They 
insisted upon going in quest of Spanish prizes, en- 
tirely forgetting the poor colonists, and disregarding 
the entreaties and threats of Mr. White, whom they 
obliged to go with them on the privateering cruise. 
They narrowly escaped being captured by the Span- 
iards, and finally put back, in a shattered condition. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Expenses incurred hy Raleigh in his Attempts to colo- 
nize Virginia. He sells his Patent to a Company of 
Merchants. A jieiv Expedition is sent out under their 
Direction. They search for the Colony left hy Fernando 
in vain, and return to England discouraged. Pro- 
posals for a neiv Expedition under better Auspices. 
The chief Persons engaged in it. 

Raleigh had now expended forty thousand pounds 
sterling in his attempts to settle a colony, and, hav- 
ing received no profits whatever in return, was very 



40 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

willing to assign his patent rights to a company of 
London merchants, who were as willing to purchase 
them. They imagined they could make a more 
profitable business of it than Raleigh had done. 
The assignment was made in March, 1589, -reserv- 
ing to the latter one fifth of the gold and silver which 
might be discovered. Raleigh, at the same time, 
liberally made the purchasers a gift of one hundred 
pounds, " for the propagation of the Christian re- 
ligion in Virginia." 

Among this new company was Governor White, 
and, the Spanish armada being now no longer in 
his way, he once more embarked for America. He 
was still in the company of privateers, however, and 
obliged to take a roundabout course with them, 
through the Spanish West Indies. After having 
there captured a number of prizes, the vessel which 
carried him as a passenger bore away to the north- 
ward, and, on the 3d of August, 1590, fell in 
with the low, sandy isles west of Ocrocock. On 
the 15th, they came in sight of cape Hatteras, and 
cast anchor a few miles off shore. 

The next morning. Captain Spicer and Captain 
Cooke, with tv/o parties of sailors, and two boats, 
were sent ashore, to look for the colony. They dis- 
charged a volley of muskets to give them notice of 
their arrival ; but not a man was found upon the 
island, nor could any sign of the colony be discov- 
ered. With this melancholy report, the sailors re- 
turned to the ships. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 41 

The boats were got out the next morning for a 
new searcli ; but, by some indiscreet management, 
one of them was overset in deep water, and Captain 
Spicer and six sailors were drowned. Four others 
of the boat's crew were saved by Cooke, who plunged 
into the sea after them. This misfortune discour- 
aged the party so entirely, that they had nearly de- 
termined to make no more exertions whatever. By 
Cooke's persuasion, however, they were induced to 
renew their search upon the island once more, with 
two boats and nineteen men. 

It was late ere they reached the island, but, see- 
ing a fire through the woods, they sounded a trum- 
pet. No answer was returned, and no living crea- 
ture could be found. In the morning, they found 
that the flame they had seen was merely a loose fire 
among the grass and rotten trees. They now strolled 
up and down the island, and, by and by, came to a 
place where were several half-decayed houses, sur- 
rounded by a circle of high and strong palisadoes, 
as if for defence. 

Here they found some bars of iron, and masses 
of lead, four fowling-pieces, iron shot, and other ar- 
ticles of the same kind, strown about, here and 
there, within the enclosure, overgrown with grass 
and weeds. A search was now made along the 
shore for the boats of the colonists, but none were 
found. Some sailors succeeded, however, in dis- 
covering a number of large chests upon the sand, 
which appeared to have been buried there, and af- 
4* 



42 EARLVr HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

terwards dug up and broken open. The contents of 
them lay scattered among the rocks on the shore. 
" I knew three of the chests for my owne," says 
Governor White, in his journal of this voyage, " but 
bookes, pictures and all things els, were spoyled." 

The governor was much grieved, as he well might 
be^ with this ravage of his dainty articles ; but he 
consoled himself with the conjecture, that the colo- 
nists had only removed from the island, and might 
yet be found. 

It seems they had agreed with the governor, 
three years before, when he last left them for Eng- 
land, that, in case they should ever remove, they 
would write the name of the place they removed to 
in some conspicuous situation on the island. If 
their removal was occasioned by distress, moreover, 
they were to draw a cross over the word. 

Now, it seems that some of the sailors, in roving 
about the island, had found the syllable CRO, carv- 
ed on the bark of a tree, in large letters ; " and upon 
one of the chiefe posts of the palisadoes, also," says 
the governor, in his journal, " was earned in fayre 
capitalls, CROATAN, without any signe of dis- 
tresse." The next morning, therefore, having rode 
out a terrible storm which blew all night, the ships 
weighed anchor for Croatan. 

In this short expedition, they experienced new 
disasters. One of their cables broke, by which they 
lost two anchors ; and, having dropped the third, 
they were drifted so far, that the ship was near 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 43 

Stranding. The crew was now completely dis- 
heartened. They insisted on sailing immediately 
for the West Indies, under pretence of recruiting 
themselves there, as they gave out, and returning in 
the spring to look farther for the colonists. 

Such was the last serious attempt which either 
Raleigh or his assignees made to settle a colony in 
this part of America. Here, therefore, for the 
present, must end so much of my history as con- 
cerns North Carolina. 

My young readers will wonder that the founding 
of a colony should be attended with all the difficul- 
ties I have described. They should remember, 
however, that the settlers who first came over, were 
mostly of a class unaccustomed to labor with their 
own hands. They could not even support them- 
selves in the woods by their acquaintance with the 
use of the gun. They came out, expecting to find 
gold and silver mines, as the Spaniards had done 
in South America and Mexico, and were wholly 
unprepared either to associate with savages, or to 
live upon roots, wild fruits, or "potted mastiffs." 

I shall tell you now of the first English settlement 
in Virginia, properly so called. No man had more 
to do in bringing this about, than Captain Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold. This experienced seaman had made 
a voyage along part of the American coast, in 1602 ; 
and he returned to England with such a glowing 
account of rich furs, and fine soil, and various other 
things he had met with, that the spirit of discovery 



44 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

was again kindled in the hearts of the English 
people. 

The merchants of London, Bristol, Exeter and 
Plymouth were among the first to propose new ex- 
peditions; and their proposals, seconded by Gos- 
nold, met with the approbation of King James, who 
was now upon the throne. He granted them a pat- 
ent, on the 10th of April, 1606, by which the whole 
tract of country, from the 34th to the 41st degree of 
north latitude, in America, was put under their con- 
trol. A council was also appointed to manage the 
affairs of the American settlements, generally ; and 
another council of seven, from among those who 
were about to embark for Virginia, to have the con- 
trol of that colony in particular. The names of 
these seven were contained in a sealed paper, which 
the colonists were forbidden to break open until 
twenty-four hours after they should land in America. 

Among others who set out, at this time, for 
America, was the celebrated Captain John Smith. 
As his reputation was of great service to the Vir- 
ginia company in England, and his adventures, dur- 
ing his whole life, were very remarkable, I will enter- 
tain my young friends, here, with some account of 
him. There is so much of the wonderful about it, 
I confess, that, if history were not positive and very 
clear upon the subject, T should expect you to think 
me amusing you with a fiction of my own coinage. 
But the adventures of Smith are no fiction. Few 
biographies of iiLodern times are better authenticated. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 45 



CHAPTER VI. 

Some Account of John Smith. His Birth, School-days, and 
early Character. Death of his Father, and the Conse- 
quences of that Event. He travels into France, Flanders, 
and other Countiies. Returns Home. Commences his 
Travels again. A Series of wonderful Adventures. 

John Smith ^vas born at Willoughby, in Lincoln- 
shire, England, in the year 1579. From the earliest 
period, when he discovered the first traits of his char- 
acter, it appeared to be in the highest degree romantic 
and enterprising. He began, in his childhood, with 
practising such queer pranks among his young com- 
rades at school, as absolutely amazed them; and 
very likely the good schoolmaster too. Nothing 
was too extravagant for his daring genius. 

But he soon grew weary of a confined life, and 
was wild enough to sell his books and his satchel, 
and childish play-things of various descriptions, for 
the purpose of raising money for conveying himself 
privately to the sea-side. The death of his father, 
however, put a stop, for the present, to this enter- 
prise, by committing him to the strict charge of 
guardians. The latter were determined to keep a 
sharp eye upon him; and tliey began by putting 
him out to service in a counting-house, expecting, no 
doubt, that hard labor and good advice would soon 
reduce him down to a tolerably tame boy. 

But they happened to make the grievous mistake, 



46 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

in the outset, of putting him with a merchant at 
Lynn, who was largely engaged in adventures at 
sea. Smith, being now fifteen years of age, and a 
stout stripling, began to conceive hopes that his 
master would send him to sea in his service. 

In these hopes he was indeed disappointed ; but 
he had cherished them too long to be satisfied any 
longer with sweeping the counting-house, and at- 
tending to the good counsel of his watchful guar- 
dians. So, without the smallest ceremony, even that 
of bidding the good Lynn merchant or his family 
farewell, he started off, one pleasant morning, to seek 
his fortunes. He had only ten shillings in his pocket 
at this time, which, it must be allowed, was no 
great affair for a young fellow determined to travel over 
the world; but he was lucky enough, soon after, to 
get into the train of a nobleman, who was going 
abroad on a tour, and he followed him to France. 

Whether this nobleman, Lord Bertie, became 
dissatisfied with Smith, or Smith with Lord Bertie, 
history does not inform us. He was, at all events, 
discharged from that gentleman's service, at the 
city of Orleans, in France, and there money was 
given him to return to England. His lordship had 
found out by this time, perhaps, the hasty manner 
in which Smith had left the Lynn merchant. 

But Smith was not yet tired of travelling, though 
his master was tired of him. He started off anew, 
with more money in his pockets, now, than he had 
been master of before. He visited the gay city of 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 47 

Paris, and then proceeded to the Low Countries, as 
the Netherlands were then called. Here he enlisted 
as a soldier inthe Dutch army ; and there learned 
the rudiments of the military art, for which he had 
cherished a passion from his childhood. 

In the course of some months, meeting with a 
Scotch gentleman abroad, he was persuaded to ac- 
company him to Scotland, with the promise of being 
strongly recommended to King James, then upom 
the Scottish throne, and afterwards James I. of 
England. But, in this expectation he was disap- 
pointed, and so concluded to return to Willoughby, 
his native town. But in this little place, he could 
find no company which now suited his romantic 
genius, even as well as his school-fellows had suited 
him formerly. He built a booth, therefore, in the 
woods, and there betook himself to the study of 
military tactics* and the reading of the lives of 
heroes, and other great characters, amusing him- 
self, now and then, with his horse and lance. 

At length he met with a companion, an Italian 
gentleman, "rider" to the earl of Lincoln. He 
liked his new acquaintance better than his booth, 
and was soon induced to leave this solitary den 
in the woods, for the benefit of foxes and rabbits, 
and to go to Tattersal, the residence of the earl. 

Having, soon after this, recovered a part of the 
estate which his father left him, notwithstanding 
the trouble his wild pranks had given the old gen- 
tleman, he dressed and provided himself in a gen- 



48 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

teel style, bade adieu to his new friend, the rider, 
and set off again on his travels. This was in the 
winter of 1596, when he was seventeen years of 
age. His first stage was Flanders. Here he met 
with a Frenchman, who pretended to be heir to a 
noble French family, and put on such airs, and 
told such stories, accordingly, as completely aston- 
ished and deceived Smith. The latter knew rather 
more about books and booths, at this time, than 
about men, and especially about rogues. 

The Frenchman had three accomplices with him, 
whom he called his servants. This worthy compa- 
ny, by uniting their exertions, persuaded Smith to 
travel with them to France; and the voyage was 
soon undertaken. One dark night, they arrived at 
Valory, in Picardy. There, by the connivance of 
the ship-master, who was probably bribed, the 
Frenchmen were carried ashore in the ship's boat, 
with the trunks of our young traveller, while he was 
left on board till the return of the boat. 

In the mean time, they conveyed the baggage out 
of his reach. When Smith landed, not one of them 
was to be found, and the trunks were gone off with 
them. He was now at a loss what to do, when a 
sailor on board, who happened to know the three 
villains, and had conceived an attachment to Smith, 
generously undertook to conduct him to Mortaine, 
where the connections of the Frenchmen resided. 

The sailor supplied Smith's wants till they arrived 
at Mortaine. There he found the friends of the 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 49 

three pickpockets ; but he could get no satisfaction 
from them, though the report of his adventures and 
sufferings induced several persons of distinction, in 
the village, to invite him to their houses. But, eager 
to pursue his travels, and not caring to receive fa- 
vors he was unable to requite, he left his new 
friends, in a few days, and travelled on from port to 
port, along the coast, in search of a ship of war. 

In one of these rambles, near Dinau, he happen- 
ed to meet with one of the three scoundrels who 
had robbed him. Without speaking a word, both 
parties drew their swords — a weapon which every 
body carried in those days. Smith was an adroit 
fencer, and his practice in the Dutch army, and his 
exercises in the booth, proved of service to him 
now. He wounded and disarmed his antagonist, 
and obliged him to confess his guilt before a number 
of persons, who had assembled around them to wit- 
ness the combat. 

Satisfied with this complete discomfiture of the 
poor wretch, he retired to the country-seat of an old 
family acquaintance, the earl of Ployer, who had 
been educated in England. This gentleman having 
furnished him liberally with new supplies, he trav- 
elled along the French coast to Bayonne. From 
that place, he crossed over to Marseilles, visiting 
and examining every thing naval or military in his 
way, and keeping, as you may well suppose, a better 
look-out than before for pickpockets. 

At Marseilles, he embarked for Italy, in company 
5 C 



50 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

with an ignorant and bigoted rabble of pilgrims. 
The ship was forced by a tempest into the harbor 
of Toulon, and was afterwards obliged, by a contrary 
wind, to anchor under the little island of St. May, 
off Nice, in Savoy. The pilgrims, who were all 
Catholics of the lowest order, were silly enough to 
ascribe their ill-fortune to Smith, who was an English 
Protestant, or " heretic." They began with calling 
down the vengeance of all the saints of the calen- 
dar upon him ; but, finding this had no essential 
effect either upon Smith or upon the foul weather, 
they fell upon him in a rage, cursing him and the 
English queen Elizabeth, like pirates. He made a 
gallant resistance; but they finally succeeded in 
throwing him headlong into the sea. 

Smith, however, had luckily learned to swim, as 
well as to ride, in his young days. So, buffeting the 
waves with a lusty arm,' he succeeded in reaching 
the island. The next day, he was taken on board of 
a ship of St. Malo, which had put in there, like the 
pilgrims' ship, for shelter. The captain, who hap- 
pened to be well acquainted with Smith's noble 
friend, the earl of Ploycr, entertained him kindly, 
and carried him to Alexandria, in Egypt. From 
this place, he coasted along the Levant, and, on his 
return, had the high satisfaction of witnessing a na- 
val engagement with a Venetian ship, with which 
nation the French were then at war. They con- 
quered their Venetian antagonists and rifled them 
of a rich cargo. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 51 

Smith was set on shore at Antibes, with a box of 
3 thousand sequins, (about two thousand dollars,) for 
his own share of the booty. This good fortune 
banished the pickpockets and the pilgrims equally 
from his recollection. He was now enabled to 
make the tour of Italy, which having completed, he 
crossed the gulf of Venice, and travelled into Stiria, 
as far as the residence of Ferdinand, archduke of 
Austria. 

Here he met with an English and an Irish Jesuit, 
who introduced him to Lord Eberspaught, Baron 
Kizel, and other great characters at court. Among 
them all, he soon found full scope for his genius. 
The Austrian emperor was then at war with the 
Turks, and Smith eagerly enlisted in his army as a 
volunteer. 

It was not long before he gained some distinction, 
by communicating to Eberspaught a method of 
conversing, or conveying news at a distance, by 
means of signals, made with torches, which, being 
alternately shown and hidden a certain number of 
times, signified every letter of the alphabet. The 
method is not difficult to be understood ; and if my 
young friends will attend to an explanation, I will 
make it as little tedious as possible. 

In the first place, three torches are shown in a 
line, equally distant from each other. These are 
answered from the other party, by three of the same 
kind. This is to signify, I suppose, that both par- 
ties are ready to give attention to what follows. 



52 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

The alphabet being divided into two parts, the 
letters from A to L are signified by showing and 
hiding one light, as many times as there are letters 
from A to that letter which you mean. 

The letters from L to Z are indicated by tico 
lights, managed in the same manner. The end of 
a word is made known by hoisting three lights. At 
every letter, the light stands till the other party may 
have time to. write it down, and answer, by his sig- 
nal, that he understands it. 

Smith soon had an opportunity of making an ex- 
periment with his liglits. Eberspaught, being be- 
sieged by the Turks, in the town of Olimpach, was 
cut oif from all intelligence and all hope of succor 
from his friends. Smith now proposed his method 
of communication to Baron Kizel, who approved it, 
and allowed him to put it in practice. 

He was accompanied, therefore, by a guard to a 
hill within view of the town, but sufficiently remote 
from the Turkish camp to be safe. At the display 
of the signal, Eberspaught knew and answered it. 
Smith then conveyed to him this intelligence, by his 
lights — " Thursday night, I will charge on the east : 
at the alarm, sally thou." The answer was — " I will." 

On Thursday evening j accordingly, the assault 
was made ; a great number of false fires having just 
been kindled in another quarter, by Smith's advice, 
to distract the attention of the enemy. The assail- 
ants were soon joined, according to appointment, 
by a detachment which sallied from the town : they 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 53 

killed many of the Turks, drove others into the 
river, and threw reinforcements into the place. 
This success, and tlie alarm occasioned by it among 
the enemy, soon induced them to raise the siege. 

The exploit procured Smith the command of a 
company, consisting of two hundred and fifty horse- 
men, in the regiment of Count Meldrick, a Tran- 
sylvanian nobleman. This regiment was engaged 
in several hazardous enterprises, and Smith distin- 
guished himself so much in the prosecution of them, 
that, when Meldrick left the Austrian army, and 
passed into the service of his own prince, he insisted 
upon Smith's following him. 

In the course of the war between the Austrians 
and the Turks, Regal, a town belonging to the lat- 
ter, and garrisoned by a strong Turkish force, was 
besieged by a Transylvanian army. The garrison 
were so confident in the strength of the place, that 
they ridiculed the slow approaches of the enemy 
without tlie walls. After a while, they even sent 
out a challenge, purporting, that " the Lord Turbi- 
sha," a famous warrior among them, to divert the 
ladies and to spend the time, would fight any single 
captain of the Christian troops. 

The honor of accepting this challenge, being de- 
termined by lot, fell upon Captain Smith. He met 
his proud antagonist on horseback, within view of 
the Turkish ladies on the battlements, and began 
the encounter at the sound of music. He soon 
killed the Turk, and bore away his head in triumph 



64 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 




Smith fighting with the Turk. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 55 

to his general. The death of Turbisha so irritated 
his particular friend Cunalgo, that he sent an ur- 
gent challenge to Smith. The latter, not at all 
daunted, met him within a day or two, with the 
same ceremonies used in the case of Turbisha, and 
treated him in precisely the same manner. 

Smith then sent a message into the town, inform- 
ing the ladies, that, if they wished for more diver- 
sion, they should be welcome to his head, in case 
their third champion could take it. This challenge 
was accepted by Bonamalgro, a prodigious giant of 
a Turk. In the combat which ensued before the 
walls, he unhorsed Smith, and came near gaining 
the victory; but, remounting nimbly at a critical 
moment, the latter gave him a quick and powerful 
stroke with his falchion, which brought him to the 
ground ; and so his head was added to the other 
two. 

In consequence of these exploits, Smith was 
now honored witli a military procession, consisting 
of six thousand men, three led horses, and the 
Turks' heads carried on the points of their lances, 
in the style of the age. He was afterwards conduct- 
ed to the pavilion of his general. The latter, after 
embracing him, presented him with a horse richly 
furnished, a cimeter and belt, worth three hundred 
ducats, (about one thousand dollars,) and a major's 
commission in his own regiment. After the capture 
of the city, the prince of Transylvania gave him his 
picture set in gold, a handsome yearly pension, and 



1^ 



50 EArxLY IIIJSTOKY OF VlRGIMA. 

a coat of arms, bearing tlirce Turks' heads in a 
shield, which Smitli wore ever alter. 

Alter this, lie was wounded in a battle with the 
Turks, and lay some liours among the dead. The 
uniform which lie wore discovered him to the con- 
querors as a person of consenuence, and they used 
him well till his wounds were healed. They then 
sold him to a Turkish bashaw, or governor, who 
sent him as a present to his mistress, Tragabigzan- 
da, at Constantinople. A messenger was directed 
to tell her that his master, having conquered a Bohe- 
mian nobleman, as he called Smith, in battle, pre- 
sented him to her as a shave. 

The present proved more acceptable to the lady 
than the bashaw intended. She could speak Italian, 
and so could Smith. In that language, therefore, 
he not only informed her of his country and quality, 
but conversed with her on other subjects, in so 
pleasing a manner, that she fell fairly in love with 
him. To prevent his being ill-treated, she sent him 
to her brother, a bashaw on the sea of Azoph. Her 
pretence was, that he might there learn the man- 
ners and language of the Tartars. 

Her brother suspected her design, and unkindly 
dcterinined to disappoint her. So, within an hour 
after Smith's arrival, he caused Smith to be stripped, 
his head and beard shaved, and an iron collar put 
upon his neck. He then clothed him with a coat 
of hair cloth, and obliged him to labor among the 
bashaw's Christian slaves. He was not long, how- 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 57 

ever, in contriving the means of escape from this 
desperate situation. He was employed in threshing 
at a barn, in a large field, about a league from the 
house of his new master ; and the latter came dai- 
ly to overlook his work, and treat him with abusive 
language : this he not unfreqtiently followed up with 
kicks and blows, and these were more than Smith 
could bear. He watclied an opportunity one day, 
when no tliird person was present, and levelled a 
stroke at the bashaw with his flail, which stunned, 
if it did not kill him. 

He then hid the body in the straw, and, shutting 
the barn door, he filled a bag with grain, mount- 
ed the bashaw's horse, and betook himself, with all 
possible despatch, to the desert. There he wander- 
ed two or three days, ignorant of the way, but was 
so fortunate as not to meet with a single person who 
might give information of his flight. 

At length, he came to a post, erected in a cross- 
road, by the marks on which he found his way to 
Moscovy. In sixteen days, he arrived at Exapolis, 
on the river Don, where was a Russian garrison. 
Here, the commander, understanding that he was 
a Christian, received him kindly, took off his iron 
collar, and gave him letters and passports. These, 
with the generous assistance of old friends, whom 
he fell in with on his route through Germany, 
France and Spain, enabled him to complete his 
travels. He returned to England in a year or two, 
with one thousand ducats in his pocket. 

C* 



58 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

I have thus given you some account of this very 
extraordinary man. I do not mean to recommend 
his example to you, for I think he would have done 
better to have remained at home, and pursued some 
honest calling, than to have enlisted in a foreign army, 
and fought battles with the Turks. But we must re- 
member that all this happened more than two hundred 
years ago, when such bold characters were much 
raore highly esteemed and encouraged than they 
are now. I have told you his story, that you may 
know something of the individual whom I shall 
soon introduce to you as exercising great influence 
in the settlement of Virginia. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Departure of a new Expedition from England. Arrival 
on the Virginian Coast. The Country is partially ex- 
plored. Adventures ivith the JVatives. A Settlement is 
commenced at Jamestown. It is assaulted by the Indians, 
who are repulsed. Smith is honorably acquitted of the 
Charges brought against him. Captain JVewport sails 
for England. 

Smith was persuaded by Gosnold, as I have told 
you before, to embark with the new colonists for 
Virginia. The merchants concerned in this enter- 
prise, had provided three vessels : the command of 
them, with the care of transporting the colonists, 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 59 

was intrusted to Christopher Newport, a seaman 
who had distinguished himself in the Spanish war. 

The httle squadron sailed from the Thames on the 
19th of December, 1606, and proceeded in the old 
route by the Canaries, where they watered. During 
their stay here, violent dissensions arose among the 
adventurers, occasioned by envy of Smith. The 
result was, that he was put under arrest on the ab- 
surd charge of an intention to murder the " coun- 
cil," and make himself king of Virginia. Smith 
had no more idea of all this than of being king of 
England; but he was, nevertheless, jealously 
watched, and kept closely confined during the rest 
of the voyage. 

Having touched at the Caribbee islands, on their 
way, for the purposes of trade and refreshment, they 
entered the great Chesapeake bay on the 26th of 
April, 1607. They called the first land which they 
approached "cape Henry." Here, as thirty of the 
sailors were recreating themselves on the shore, 
they were suddenly assaulted by five savages, who 
wounded two of their number dangerously, and 
escaped. 

That night, the box which contained their sealed 
instructions, mentioned before, was broken open. 
It was found that seven of the chief colonists were 
appointed counsellors, of whom Smith was one. 
He was not, however, allowed the honor intended 
him by the king's appointment ; but the other six 
proceeded to choose one of their number, Mr 



60 EARLY HISTORY. OF VIRGINIA. 

Wingfield, president of the council. They then 
entered on their records the ridiculous reasons why 
Smith was rejected, and of which you will learn 
more hereafter. 

They named the northern point of the bay " cape 
Charles," in honor of a son of King James, who was 
afterwards king himself Every object which met 
their eyes, as they sailed up the broad and shining bo- 
som of the great Chesapeake, excited their imagina- 
tions and their hopes. The banks of the bay, upon 
all sides, as far as sight could reach, were covered 
with the fresh, green beauty of spring. 

There were large and majestic navigable rivers, 
and between them a variety of mountains, plains 
and valleys, stretching far away in the distance. 
Bright rivulets came dashing down the hills, and 
fell into the bay. Innumerable birds spdrted and 
sang in the green woods upon the shore and the 
islands; the fish leaped from the sunny waters 
around them ; and all nature seemed to welcome 
the coming of the new colony with smiles. 

Whilst engaged in seeking a proper site for the 
first settlement, they met five of the natives, who 
invited them to their town, Kecoughtan, which was 
situated where Hampton now stands. Here the 
English were feasted with cakes made of Indian 
corn, and regaled with tobacco and an Indian 
dance. In return, they presented the natives with 
beads and other trinkets. As they sailed farther up 
the bay, another Indian party appeared in arms on 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. gj 




Sailing up the Chesapeake. 



63 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

the shore : their chief, holding in one hand his bow 
and arrows, and in the other a pipe of tobacco, the 
emblems of war and peace, demanded of the Eng- 
lish the occasion of their visit. The latter made 
signs of peace, and were then received in a friendly 
manner. 

On the 13th of May, they landed on a peninsula, 
which, for the anchorage and security it afforded, 
they considered the best place for a settlemertt. 
Here, again, the natives received them with kind- 
ness, offered them as much land as they wanted, 
and sent them a deer for their entertainment. 

They named this peninsula " Jamestown," in 
honor of the English king ; and then, to use Smith's 
own Avords, (in his journal,) "Now falleth every 
man to Worke ; the councell continue the fort ; the 
rest cut downe trees, to make place to pitch their 
tents ; some provide clapbord to relade the ships ; 
others make gardens and nets." The savages often 
came in to see them, we are told : but " the presi- 
dent's ouerweening jealousie would admit no exer- 
cize, or fortification, but the boughs of trees cast 
together in the forme of a halfe moone by the paines 
and diligence of Captaine Kendall." These may 
serve as specimens of the ancient style of writing ; 
and they also show that the colonists went busily to 
work upon the new settlement. 

The council now found themselves much in need 
of the services of Smith. They released him, 
therefore, through pity, as they said, notwithstand- 



EAELY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 63 

ing his *^ outrageous offences," which seemed to 
consist in their own envy, and in his being the most 
popular man in the colony. He called loudly for a 
trial ; but this they had, or pretended to have, no au- 
thority to grant him. He contented himself, for the 
present, with accompanying Newport and twenty 
others up the river, to make discoveries. 

They went as far as the falls, and visited Powha- 
tan, the principal king of the country. His town, 
pleasantly situated on a hill, where there has since 
been, and, I believe, now is, a plantation, con- 
sisted of twelve houses. In front of these were 
three small islands in the river, a little below the 
spot where Richmond now stands. Some of the 
Indians, here, are said to have been eager for an 
immediate assault upon the English. But the king, 
who was no more friendly, but much more shrewd, 
kept the savages quiet, and concealed his own hos- 
tile disposition. " Why should we be offended," 
said he, "by the coming of these strangers? They 
want only a little ground, which we can well spare." 
The cunning old king, now sixty years of age, is sup- 
posed to have been planning the ruin of the colo- 
nists at this very time. Captain Newport presented 
him a hatchet, which he received with apparent 
pleasure ; and the English then returned down the 
river. 

During the absence of this party, and by Powha- 
tan's directions, perhaps, Jamestown had been at- 
tacked by a strong body of Indians. The cunning 



64 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

Indians had treated the English well, till the latter 
had grown careless, laid aside their muskets, and, 
as Smith says, admitted no exercise of arms. The 
assault began upon all sides at the same moment, 
the savages rushing out from the woods with a tre- 
mendous uproar. The merest accident saved the 
colony. A bar of iron fired from one of the ships 
lying in the river, near by, cut a branch, or, as 
Smith writes, " strooke downe a bough," from a 
tree, among the Indians. This frightened them 
terribly, the use of cannon being a new thing to 
them. They took to their heels in all directions, 
never stopping to look behind them. One English boy 
was killed, and seventeen of the company wounded. 

The Jamestown council now took careful meas- 
ures for defence. Kendall's half-moon fort was 
completely palisadoed around, five cannon planted 
in it, and the colonists daily exercised in the use of 
arms. Many were the assaults and ambuscades of 
the savages, who soon recovered from their recent 
alarm. The English stragglers were often hurt; 
but the savages, on the other hand, were too nimble 
to be caught, and too cunning to expose themselves 
openly to the English guns. 

^' What toyle we had," says Smith, " with so 
small a power to guard our workmen adayes, watch 
all night, resist our enemies, and effecte our busi- 
nesse, to relade the ships, cut downe trees, and 
prepare the ground to plant our corne, &/C. I re- 
ferre to the reader's consideration." I am certain 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 65 

my young friends will agree that the captain had a 
hard time of it. He might almost as well have fall- 
en among the pickpockets again, or the Catholio 
pilgrims. 

Six weeks having passed in this manner, Captain 
Newport was ready to return witli the ships to Eng- 
land. Smith now insisted so strongly on having his 
trial, that the council could no longer refuse it. He 
was accordingly tried. The result was that he was 
honorably acquitted of the charge of intending to 
be king, and of all other charges. The very wit- 
nesses whom his enemies had hired to swear false- 
hood against him, unexpectedly swore the truth 
against his enemies. The guilt and meanness of 
President Wingfield, in particular, appeared so out- 
rageous in the course of the investigation, that he 
was condemned to pay Smith two hundred pounds. 

All the property poor Wingfield had was accord- 
ingly seized upon as part satisfaction of this judg- 
ment. Smith, however, despised the money as 
much as the man ; and he gave it immediately for 
the common use of the colony. Wingfield still 
continued to be troublesome; but the clergyman, 
Mr. Hunt, finally reconciled all parties. Smith 
was admitted to his seat with the council. The 
next day, all the colonists received the communion 
together at church, as a bond of peace. The sav- 
ages came in to desire a truce, the day following, 
and Newport sailed, with all this good news, on the 
15th of June, 1607. 
6* 



66 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

I shall close this chapter with a specimen of 
Captain Smith's poetry, taken from his journal. It 
contains sensible reflections on the events just re- 
lated ; but it must be allowed, the captain was more 
successful in building booths, and killing Turks 
and savages, than in making verses. It may amuse 
my readers, however, as a specimen of the ancient 
style of writing. 

" By this observe : 

Good men did ne'r their countries' ruin bring. ' 
But when evill men shall iniuries beginne, 
Not caring to cormpt and violate 
The iudgement-seats for tlieir owne Lucr's sake, 
Then looke that country cannot long haue peace, 
Though for the present it haue rest and ease." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

State of the Jamestown Colony at this Time. Conduct of 
the President and of Smith. A new President chosen. 
Smiih''s great Services to the Colony. Preparations for 
Winter. Provisions brought in by the Indians. Vari- 
ous Adventures of Smith. He is at last captured by the 
Indians. 

The colony now consisted of 104 persons, mis- 
erably supplied with provisions. So long as the 
ships staid, their allowance of food had been 
somewhat increased by a daily proportion of ship- 
biscuit, which some of the sailors pilfered, as Smith 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 67 

tells us, and then sold or gave in exchange, to the 
landsmen, " for money, saxefras, furs or love." This 
resource now failed the colonists ; and, had they 
been as free from all other sins as they were at this 
time from over-eating, they might have been called 
perfect men. 

The president alone, our old friend Wingfield, 
must be an exception, however. No man was so 
active as Wingfield, who was never active before, 
in embezzling and setting aside, for his private use, 
oatmeal, oil, spirits, beef, eggs ; and whatever else 
his opportunities as president allowed, this worthy 
character laid hands upon. 

The rest of the company were provided for in 
commons, from a large kettle. The contents of 
this the president allowed to be equally distributed. 
Each colonist's share was half a pint of wheat, and 
the same quantity of barley, boiled with water, for 
one day. Even this was scarcely fit for cattle. It 
had lain twenty-six weeks in the ship's hold, having 
been brought from England. Their food, there- 
fore, as Smith observes, might rather be called bran 
than corn ; while their drink was good pure water, 
and their lodgings " castles in the air." 

With this diet and lodging, the hard labor of the 
colonists, and the extreme heat, it is not strange 
that many of them fell sick. In a single month 
after Newport's departure, fifty of these miserable 
people died. The rest subsisted, till September, 
upon sturgeon and sea-crabs. At this time, the 



68 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

president formed a plan, with Kendall, one of the 
council, and a few others, to seize upon the only 
remaining boat, and sail secretly for England. 

But the plot was luckily discovered; and the 
president, who was the only well man in the colony, 
in consequence of his good eating, probably, was 
deposed, and Mr. Ratcliife chosen in his place. 
The rest of the sick began to recover soon after 
this; but their provision, even the sturgeon, was 
all gone. At this critical moment, the Indians, who 
were daily expected to fall upon them without mer- 
cy, paid them a friendly visit, and brought in such a 
quantity of corn and fruits, that the wants of the 
colony were entirely relieved. 

Though Ratcliife was now president, he was not 
much of a business man ; and all the weight of the 
necessary preparations for winter came upon Smith. 
He accordingly set the whole colony at work — some 
to mow, some to bind thatch, and others to build 
houses, or thatch them — himself working with them 
constantly with his own hands. Lodgings being 
thus provided, somewhat better than castles in the 
air, and the provisions beginning to decrease again, 
he went down the river in the shallop, with six or 
eight men, to search the country for more corn. 

The want of a sufficient number of men, as welF 
as of warm clothing, and skill in the management of a 
boat without sails, were great difficulties in his way. 
Besides all this, he was ignorant of the Indian lan- 
guage. But Smith was not a man to be discouraged. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 69 

The party soon came to an Indian settlement, called 
Kecoughtan, The Indians on the bank of the riv- 
er, at that place, treated him with derision, at first. 
They saw plainly, with their keen eyes and their 
own experience of hunger, that Smith, and the poor 
sailors with him, were half famished ; and they 
thought they could safely make sport of them. 

So, as Smith began to propose trade, they offered 
him a handful of corn or a piece of bread in ex- 
change for the muskets of his men, and about as 
generous an offer was made for the clothes which- 
they wore. Fhiding, at length, that he could effect 
nothing by trade or courtesy, Smith felt obliged, by 
the necessity of the case, his men being all but 
starved, to make a desperate effort. He ordered 
his men to discharge their muskets in the air ; the 
woods along the shore echoed the noise ; the In- 
dians were frightened, and fled for life. 

Smith now ran his boat upon the sand, and march- 
ed up to the little village of the Indians. Here were 
great heaps of corn, and the captain had much 
ado to keep his hungry followers from laying violent 
hands upon it at once. They were the more eager 
as they expected the savages to return every mo- 
ment and assault them. In a few minutes, accord- 
ingly, the latter were seen coming on, sixty or seventy 
of them, painted of all colors, black, red, white, and 
party-colored, for battle. 

They marched up towards the English, in a square 
order, singing, shouting and dancing, with a tremen- 

D* 



70 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

dous uproar indeed. Some of their number carried 
an idol before them, which they called an okee. 
This was an image made of skins, stuffed with moss 
(something as they stuff birds in a museum), and 
hung all over, from top to toe, with a variety of 
chains and copper ornaments. 

Marching, or rather dancing up, in this style, 
they charged the little English party with clubs and 
arrows. But the latter were nothing daunted. 
Smith had seen hard times before, and he coolly 
encouraged his brave fellows to stand firm. They 
levelled their muskets, though loaded only with 
pistol'bullets, gravel and duck-shot, and gave the 
savages such a warm reception, and raised such a 
blaze and smoke in their faces, that they yelled and 
danced more than ever. Their scare-crow of an 
idol was dropped; some lay sprawling upon the 
ground, either horribly frightened or hurt, perhaps 
both ; and the rest of the multitude fled again to 
the woods. 

In a short time, one of their chief men mustered 
courage enough to come out and advance towards 
the English. It seems the savages were entirely 
discouraged by the fate of their scare-crow, which 
they had probably supposed no weapons of mortal 
man could overcome. Their messenger was now 
instructed to offer peace, and to redeem their okee. 
Smith answered him, that, if only six of their num- 
ber would come unarmed, and load his boat with 
food, he would not only make friends with them^ 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 71 

but restore them their mighty okee, and give them 
beads copper, and hatchets besides. 

All this was soon agreed upon, and executed to 
the satisfaction of both parties. The savages 
brought out venison, turkeys, wild fowl, bread, and 
whatever else they could muster. The boat was soon 
loaded with this good cheer. The Indians were well 
paid; and, as Smith and his crew rowed away from 
the land, the former were seen and heard singing and 
dancing upon the shore, for some time. Thus, as 
the captain adds, in his journal — 

*' Thus Godj unboundlesse in his power, 
Made them thus kind, would vs deuour." 

Soon after this, Smith made several exploring ex-r 
peditions by land. He discovered the people of' 
Chickahominy, among other savage tribes, situated 
upon a river of the same name. This tribe treated 
him very civilly, and he treated them so. Hundreds 
of them stood upon the shores, as he passed along, 
and bartered their baskets of corn for beads and 
trinkets. 

With the approach of winter came a pleiity of 
provisions. The rivers were covered with innu- 
merable swarms of wild fowl, and the woods abound- 
ed with venison and wild turkies. The colonists 
lived, now, like aldermen, on the fat of the land. 

Just before this, and during the absence of Smith 
on one of his expeditions mentioned above, Wing- 
field and Kendall had conspired, with several oth- 



72 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

ers of less note, to seize the shallop, which Smith 
had fitted out for trade. The intenilorj was to 
escape with her to England. It is supposed that 
another part of Wingfield's plot was to carry off a. 
good share of the colony's recent supplies of food. 
He was suspected of this, unjustly, perhaps, from his 
having formerly embezzled the eggs and oatmeal, 
and from his general reputation as a good trencher- 
man. Luckily, Smith returned in time to prevent 
the execution of the plan. 

He had some trouble, however, in preventing it. 
The conspirators resisted him from the boat, and he 
was obliged to attack them with such a discharge 
of musketry and ordnance, as came very near sink- 
ing them, provisions and all, in the river. Kendall 
was killed on the spot. But Wingfield, who was 
the most active man in the colony, in trying to do 
mischief, was not yet satished. He devised a second 
plot, with Captain Archer, to escape, as before. 
This was again discovered and prevented by Smith, 
who now held these worthy characters completely 
under his control. 

He soon started off again to explore the Chick- 
ahominy river. He ascended that river in a barge, 
till the stream became so narrow, that the trees on 
the two banks were interwoven closely with each 
other. Smith and his men had to haul and push 
themselves through, by the boughs over their heads. 
He left his barge, therefore, in a cove, out of dan- 
ger from the savages. He himself, with two whites 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 73 

and two Indians, proceeded farther up in a canoe. 
Tliose who were left with the barge were directed 
to stay closely on board of her. 

Smith had not gone far, when, becoming rather 
disorderly, or, at least, careless, the men left with 
the boat landed, contrary to his orders. They soon 
found themselves set upon by a large Indian force, 
headed by Opechancanough (brother of Powhatan), 
who had lain in wait for them. One of the barge- 
men, George Cassen, was compelled to disclose the 
route Smith had taken, and was then put to death. 
The others escaped to the barge, and put off at a 
distance. 

Smith had ascended the river twenty miles, by 
this time, till he had come to the marshes at its 
source. Here, as the two Englishmen who were in 
company with him, lay asleep, one night, by a fire 
they had kindled, the party of Opechancanough's 
Indians suddenly came upon them, and slew them 
both with arrows. The same party afterwards pur- 
sued Smith himself, and, having overtaken him, sur- 
rounded him as he was fowling in the woods for 
food, and wounded him with an arrow. There 
were two hundred of the Indians. Smith killed 
three of them at the first onset. He then defended 
himself, for a long time, with prodigious strength 
and spirit. 

One of his two Indians happening to be with 
him, he bound him to his left arm with his garters, 
7 D 



74 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

and used him in this way for a shield. Smith was 
shot in the thigh with an arrow, however, in spite of 
this defence, and several other arrows stuck in his 
clothes, without doing him much damage. At last 
he was taken prisoner. This happened by his 
falling into a swamp, as he was backing his way 
out from the Indians towards the river. He sank 
up to the middle in the mire, and his Indian with 
him. 

Even here, the savages dared not come upon 
him, till, being nearly dead with cold, he threw 
away his arms. They then drew him out, and led 
him to the fire where his men had been slain. Here 
they rubbed his benumbed limbs, till he was able 
to move once more. He now began to exert his 
usual ingenuity to escape the death which he saw 
they intended for him. He took out an ivory com- 
pass and dial from his pocket, and showed them to 
Opechancanough. The savage was amazingly 
pleased with the vibrations of the needle and the 
fly, which, being covered with glass, he could not 
touch, much to his wonder. 

Smith adroitly took advantage of his astonishment 
to explain the uses of these instruments, as well as 
he could, by signs, and to tell them about the mo- 
tions of the heavenly bodies. In his own words, 
** When he demonstrated by that Globe-like lewell, 
the roundnesse of the earth and skies, the spheare of 
the Sunne, Moone and Starres, and how the Sunne 



EARLY HISTORY OP VIRGINIA. 75 

did chase the night round about the world continu- 
ally, the greatnesse of the Land and Sea, the di- 
versitie of nations, varietie of complexions, and 
many other such like matters, they all stood as 
amazed with admiration." 

But, their wonder subsiding after a while. Smith 
was bound to a tree ; they gathered around him in 
a circle, and prepared to make him a mark for 
their arrows. At this moment, influenced probably 
by the desire of exhibiting his captive alive, Ope- 
chancanough held up the compass, as a signal .for 
sparing him. The savages laid their arms down 
for the present, and soon after conducted him, in 
triumphal procession, to Orapaks. This was a 
hunting-town in the upper part of the Chickahom- 
iny swamp, much frequented by Powhatan and his 
royal relations, for the plenty of game which was 
found there. They marched in Indian or single 
file, their sachem in the centre, with the English 
swords and muskets borne before him. The pris- 
oner followed next, held by three savages, on each 
side of whom marched a file of six Indians. They 
seemed to be in great dread of Smith's strength and 
ingenuity. 



76 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Adventures of Smith among the Indians. The Cere- 
monies used to ascertain his Disposition towards them. 
His Death is resolved upon. It is prevented by Poca- 
hontas^ the Daughter of Powhatan. Various Adven- 
tures and Anecdotes. Smithes Return to Jamestown. 

As this procession approached the Indian town, 
the women and children came out in crowds to see 
them, forming themselves in a circle about the king, 
and singing and dancing. The warriors now struck 
up their war-song, giving, in their tones and move- 
ments, an imitation of a battle. They then formed 
themselves into a ring, still yelling in a savage 
style, and throwing themselves into all manner of 
postures. 

They were strangely painted. Every man had 
his quiver of arrows, rattling at his shoulder, a club 
swung at his back, and a fox or otter's skin on his 
arm, for an ornament. Their heads and shoulders 
were painted a brilliant scarlet. In addition to 
all this show, each warrior brandished his bow in 
his hand ; the skin of some bird, dried, with the 
wings stretched out, was tied upon his head ; and 
even at the end of all this, was attached a piece of 
copper, or shell, or the rattle of a rattlesnake, to in- 
crease both the noise and the show. In this style 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 77 

three dances were performed, the king standing, 
with his guarded prisoner, in the middle. The 
dances being over, the mukitude began to withdraw. 

Smith was now conducted to a large log-house ; 
he was guarded by four chosen Indians, for he had 
inspired them with a terrible idea of his strength 
and skill, and they were determined to make sure 
of him. They treated him well, however. Such a 
supply of bread and venison was now brought in to 
him, that he began to think their intention was to 
fatten him for some festival. His appetite was not 
very good, at all events. He ate but little, and 
what he left was suspended in baskets from the roof 
over his head. The Indians came again about 
midnight, to set provisions before him, not one of 
them offering to eat a morsel with him at this time. 
But when they brought him a fresh supply, the next 
morning, they made a good meal themselves of the 
old stock. 

Two days after this, an Indian, whose son Smith 
had wounded in battle, attacked him suddenly at 
his log-house, and, but for his Indian guard, would 
have killed him. The young wounded Indian, it 
seems, was then at the point of death ; and his fa- 
ther was almost frantic with the desire to revenge 
himself upon Smith. The latter now told the sav- 
ages, that he thought he could cure the young man," 
if they would let him (Smith) go to Jamestown for 
a kind of strong water (spirits), which he had there. 
But this they would not permit. 



78 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

Meanwhile, they were making great preparations 
for assaulting Jamestown. Perhaps Smith had been 
spared with the expectation of his assisting them in 
this enterprise. They now came to him, and prom- 
ised him life, liberty, land, and as many Indian 
wives as he might fall in love with, if he would aid 
them. Smith said he was much obliged to them 
for their liberal offers, but wished to be excused. 
He then used all his eloquence in describing the 
gunpowder, "great gunnes, and other engines" of 
the English, hoping, in this way, to deter them from 
their proposed attack. 

To convince them of the truth of his words, he 
easily persuaded several Indians to go through the 
woods to Jamestown, bitterly cold as the weather 
was. He gave them a leaf from his pocket-book, 
on which he wrote to his friends at Jamestown a 
list of things to be sent to him, at a certain place in 
the woods. The colonists were directed, also, to 
frighten the Indians by a discharge of their cannon. 
This plan succeeded. The savages were equally 
amazed with the virtues of the " speaking leaf," as 
they called the letter — the English having sent every 
article which Smith wrote for — and with the account 
which the messengers gave of the English cannon. 

They now gave up the assault upon Jamestown ; 
but they were prouder than ever of Smith, who was 
truly a wonderful being in their eyes. Treating him, 
therefore, as a cat plays with a mouse before de- 
spatching the poor animal, they made a tour among 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 79 




Savage skipping before Smith. 



80 EARLY HISTORY OF, VIRGINIA. 

various Indian tribes, subject to Powhatan, the roy- 
al brother, as I have told you before, of Opechan- 
chanough. Smith was led along in procession with 
them, in great pomp and with loud rejoicings. 

I should alarm my young friends, possibly, if I 
told them all the hard names of the tribes they visit- 
ed. You know the savages are famous for long 
and hard names of places and people. Suffice 
it to say, that, after having called upon the Yough- 
tamunds, the Mattaponies, the Piankatanks, the 
Nantaughtacunds on Rappahannock river, and 
the Nominies on the Potowmac, they brought poor 
Smith at last to Pamunkey, the residence of Ope- 
chanchanough himself! 

Here they performed a variety of the most aston- 
ishing ceremonies around him, which lasted three 
days. The object was to find out, by their magical 
performances, whether Smith intended them good 
or evil ; for they were still greatly in awe of him. 
Early one morning, therefore, a great fire was made 
in a long house, and a large mat spread on two op- 
posite sides. They made Smitli sit down upon one ; 
and his guard, still consisting of some twenty or 
thirty stout Indians, then left the liouse. 

Presently, a large, grim-looking savage came skip- 
ping and flourishing in, like a wire-dancer. He 
was all painted over with coal, mingled with oil. 
On this creature's head, to complete his attractions, 
was a large ornamental bunch of snake and wea- 
sel skins, stuffed with moss, and their tails so tied 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGLNIA. 81 

together, as to meet on the crown of his head, Hke 
a tassel. The skins hung down about his face and 
shoulders, and a coronet of long feathers streamed 
round about from his tassel. 

This character now began his invocation. He 
shouted like a fiend, with all possible gestures, pos- 
tures and grimaces. He carried a tremendous rat- 
tle in his hand, moreover, to complete the concert. 
This being over, three more people of the same 
description, painted half red and half black, came 
rushing in like the first, and performed nearly the 
same kind of dance. But the eyes of the last three 
were painted white ; and some rough strokes of 
paint were daubed along their jaws, as an imitation 
of English mustachios and whiskers. 

These men, haying skipped and howled round 
about Smith till he was nearly stunned with their 
noise, retired into the ante-chamber, probably to re- 
fresh themselves. But the ceremony was not yet 
over. Three more now leaped into the room, not a 
whit less ugly than the others. These had red eyes 
and white mustachios, painted upon faces as black 
as a kettle. 

At last, all the dancers seated themselves on the 
mat opposite to Smith — three on one side of the 
chief performer, and three on the other. He soon 
commenced a song, accompanied with the noise 
of rattles. The chief man then laid down five 
grains of wheat, and commenced an oration, strain- 
ing his arms and hands with such violence, that 

D* 



83 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

his veins swelled. At the conclusion of this perform- 
ance, they all gave a short groan, by way of assent 
to what was said, and laid down three grains more. 
Smith was then entertained with another song and 
oration, the grain being laid down as before. 

All this continued till night, neither he nor they 
having a morsel of food. The Indians then feasted 
merrily upon all the provisions they could muster, 
giving Smith a good share of them. The ceremo- 
nies just described were repeated the two following 
days. Some maize-meal which they strewed around 
him in circles, represented their country, they said ; 
the wheat, the bounds of the sea ; and something 
else was used to signify the country of the whites. 
They gave Smith to understand, that the earth was 
flat and round, like a trencher, themselves being 
situated, they said, precisely in the middle. 

After this, they showed him a bag of English 
gunpowder, which they had taken from some of his 
men. They said they were going to preserve it 
carefully till the next spring, supposing it to be 
some new kind of grain which would yield them a 
harvest. Smith was now invited to visit the resi- 
dence of Opitchapan, second brother to Powhatan, 
and heir to all his dominions. He went, according- 
ly, with his Indian guard. The prince feasted him 
richly with bread, fowl and wild meat, not an Indian 
offering to eat with him. Whatever provision he left 
was put up in baskets, and carried back to Pamun- 
key, where the women and children feasted upon it. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 83 

To bring my long story to a close. Smith was at 
last brought into the presence of King Powhatan 
himself, at a place called Werowocomoco. This 
was on the north side of York river, in what is now 
Gloucester county, and nearly opposite to the mouth 
of dueen's creek, about twenty-five miles below the 
mouth of the river. The usual residence of Pow- 
hatan, however, was at a town named from himself. 
He had reduced under his power a large number of 
Indian tribes, even as far as Patuxen, in Maryland. 
He was a noble-looking savage, and, at the time I 
speak of, was about sixty years of age. 

On the entrance of Smith into his royal residence, 
the king was dressed in a cloak made of the skins of 
the raccoon, and sitting before a large fire, on an 
elevated throne, something like a bedstead. On his 
right and left were his two daughters. They were 
handsome girls, who might be, as Smith guessed, 
sixteen and eighteen years of age. The king's 
chief men, adorned with shells and feathers, and 
their shoulders painted red, were ranged on each 
side of the house. An equal number of women 
stood directly behind them. 

On Smith's being brought in, the whole multi- 
tude raised a shout. The queen of the Apamattox 
tribe was now ordered to bring him water to wash 
his hands ; and another brought him a bunch of 
feathers, by way of a towel, to wipe them. They 
then feasted him as well as they were able, and a 



84 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

consultation was afterwards held among them. The 
conclusion seemed to be, that the prisoner should 
be put to death. Two large stones were brought 
in, and laid at the feet of the king. Smith was 
stretched out with his head on one of them ; and 
Powhatan now stood over him with his club, ready 
to put an end to his life. 

The fatal club was uplifted. The Indians were 
watching in mute suspense for the blow. At this 
moment, the eldest and most beloved daughter of 
the king, Pocahontas, rushed forward, and threw 
herself, with a shriek, on the body of Smith. Her 
hair was loose ; and her eyes wild, and streaming 
with tears. She raised her hands to her father, and 
besought him, with all the eloquence of love and sor- 
row, to spare the life of his captive. 

The old king was disappointed ; but he loved his 
beautiful daughter too much to resist her tears and 
entreaties. He dropped his uplifted club, and 
looked around upon his warriors, as if to gather 
new courage. They were touched with pity, like 
himself, savages as they were. The king now 
raised his daughter, and promised her to spare the 
life of Smith. "He shall make your hatchets for 
you," said the old man, " and your bells, beads and 
copper." I suppose they thought Smith was as good 
at one trade as another ; the king was accustomed, 
it seems, to make his own shoes, pots, robes, bows 
and arrows, like the rest. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 



85 




Pocahontas saving the life of Smith. 



86 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

Smith was not kept among the savages a great 
while. He described his feeling in the following 
quaint stanza : 

" They say he bore a pleasEuit shew, 
But sure his heart was sad. 
For who can pleasant be, and rest, 
That hues in feare and dread ; 
And, having hfe suspected, doth 
It still suspected lead." 

I have nothing more to tell you of this strange 
adventure of Smith's, but the farewell ceremonies 
of Powhatan. He ordered Smith to be taken to a 
house in the woods, and seated on a mat before the 
fire, alone. He had been here but a few minutes, 
when Smith was startled " by the dolefullest noyse he 
ever heard," he says. It came from behind a large 
mat curtain, which divided the house into two parts. 
Powhatan came in immediately after, dressed more 
like a fiend than a man ; and two hundred Indians 
came after him, as black and grim as himself 

He told Smith they were now friends ; that he 
should be sent back to Jamestown. From that 
place Smith was to send Powhatan two guns and a 
grindstone, for which the latter offered to give him the 
whole country of Capahowsick, and forever regard 
him as his son. Smith expressed his gratitude to 
the old king as well as he could, and, with twelve 
Indian guides, started off that very night for James- 
town. He reached that place the next morning, 
having been a prisoner for seven weeks. 
8 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 87 

Here he treated liis Indian guides kindly ; but, 
not wishing them to learn the use of the English 
guns, perhaps, he contrived to frighten them. He 
brought out two small cannon and a grindstone. 
The savages found them rather too heavy to lug 
through the woods. He then discharged the can- 
non, loaded with stones, among the boughs of a great 
tree, covered with icicles. The ice and the boughs 
came tumbling down about the ears of the poor sav- 
ages at such a rate, that they were frightened terri- 
bly, and ran off a considerable distance. They 
soon recovered, however, from their alarm, and went 
away, highly delighted, with a load of toys and 
trinkets for King Powhatan. 

Captain Newport arrived about this time, from 
England, with large supplies of food for the colony, 
and several presents for Powhatan. He was a vain 
man, and envied Smith's popularity among the In- 
dians so much, that he concluded to pay them a 
visit himself He wished to see what trade he could 
effect with them. Smith went before him to Pow- 
hatan, and told him that Newport was coming. 

By some means or other, the shrewd old king 
had formed a true idea of the character of Newport ; 
and he addressed him, on his first entrance, to 
this effect : " You are a great sachem, as well as 
myself. It is not agreeable to the dignity of either 
of us to trade for trifles, in this peddling manner." 
Newport stood ready with his goods, expecting to 
make a great bargain. But Powhatan said, that if 



88 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

he chose to lay down his articles in a heap togeth- 
er, he would choose such of them as he liked, and 
pay him their value. 

Newport was silly enough to do so ; not perceiv- 
ing the game that was playing upon him. Powha- 
tan selected some of his goods, and valued them in 
such a manner, that Newport did not receive four 
bushels of corn for what he had expected twenty 
hogsheads. He was mortified at being thus outwit- 
ted, corn being much wanted by the colony. Smith 
now determined to try his own ingenuity with the 
king. He took a string of blue beads of glass from 
his pocket: Powhatan was delighted with them. 
Smith held them up in the sun-sliine, and showed 
him the colors of the rainbow reflected in them, till 
the old king could hardly contain himself He 
paid Smith as much corn for them as he desired. 

On this occasion, Newport presented an English 
boy to Powhatan. The latter gave Newport, in re- 
turn, a trusty Indian servant of his own, to live with 
them at Jamestown. His object was, probably, to 
learn, by his servant's means, the power and the 
arts of the English. 

Newport was entertained with dancing and feast- 
ing for some days. He then visited Opechancha- 
nough, who was also delighted with Smith's trin- 
kets, and gave him a vast quantity of corn for a few 
of them. This prince and Powhatan had both got 
the idea, that none but persons of royal blood, like 
themselves, were fit to wear articles of such mar- 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 89 

vellous beauty, and such inestimable value, as 
blue glass beads. 



CHAPTER X. 

Th£ Colonists search for Gold Mines. Exploring Expe- 
ditions of Smith. Anecdote of a Stingray. Description 
of the Susquehannock Vidians. Mventures among vari- 
ous Tribes. Smith is near being drowned. The Rappa- 
hannocks conceive a strong ejection for him. Anecdote 
of King Powhatan and Captain jYewport. 

Newport, at last, set sail for England. He had 
staid fourteen weeks, when he might have de- 
spatched his business in fourteen days as well. The 
consequence was, that the provisions of the colony 
were consumed ; so that nothing was left them to 
live upon but meal and water. While he was in 
the colony, he and his crew, with a few others, had 
got an idea into their heads of searching the coun- 
try for gold mines. In consequence of this, all busi-* 
ness had been neglected for weeks. Nothing was 
talked of, as Captain Smith said, but "dig gold, 
wash gold, refine gold !" One humorous fellow de- 
sired to be buried in the woods, when he died for 
fear they should make gold of his bones. The col- 
ony afterwards suffered greatly in consequence of 
this folly. 

In the course of the year 1608, Smith made an 
exploring voyage up the river Potowmac. Here, 
8* 



DO EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGLNIA. 

three or four thousand Indians, having a hint of his 
coming, lay in wait to kill him. They were fright- 
ened into peace, however, by a discharge of Smith's 
musketry, and even confessed that Powhatan had 
persuaded them to take up arms. We shall find 
that this cunning old king was not yet satisfied with 
the English. 

At the mouth of the Rappahannock river, Smith 
saw a fish, called the stingray, lying among the reeds 
near the bank. He struck at the fish with his sword^ 
and received a severe wound in the wrist from the 
thorn in the tail of the stingray. The island on 
which this happened is called Stingray island, I be- 
lieve, to this day. The pain produced by the wound 
was so violent, that Smith's life was for a time de- 
spaired of But he recovered, and returned to 
Jamestown on the 21st of July, and was chosen 
president, in place of Ratcliffe, the same season. 

After this, he made another long voyage, of more 
than three thousand miles in all, along the coast 
and up the rivers. This was in August and Sep- 
tember of the year just mentioned. He spent some 
time with the Susquehannock Indians, among oth- 
ers. Their tribe knew nothing of Powhatan but his 
name. They had iron hatchets and other tools, 
which they said they had obtained from the French 
in Canada. These Indians arc represented as gi- 
ants in stature, the leg of one of them being three 
quarters of a yard round ; but there was probably 
some mistake about this. 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 91 

The voice and clothing of these Indians are de- 
scribed as agreeing with their size. The former 
was deep and hollow, like a voice from a vault. 
They wore wolves' and bears' skins, so cut, that the 
man's head went through the neck of the skin, and 
the ears were fastened on his shoulders. The nose 
and teeth hung dangling down upon his breast. 
Behind was another bear's face, split, with a paw 
hanging at the nose. Their sleeves, coming down 
to their elbows, were the necks of bears, their arms 
being run through the mouth. 

One had the head of a wolf hanging to a chain, 
for a jewel. His stone tobacco-pipe was two feet 
long, carved with a bird, a deer, and other devices, 
at the bowl-end, which was heavy enough to be used 
as a war club. This Indian's arrows were very 
long, and headed with splinters of a white crystal, 
in the form of a heart, an inch broad and an inch 
and a half long. These he carried at his back, in 
a wolf-skin, for a quiver, with his bow in one hand 
and his club in the other. 

In the course of this last voyage. Smith, among 
all his other hair-breadth escapes, came very near 
being drowned. As he was crossing over from the 
main land to some island off the Virginian coast, a 
heavy thunder-storm came up. The wind blew, and 
the waves rolled, with such>iolence, upon his little 
barge, that the crew had much ado to keep her from 
sinking, by bailing the water out with their hats. 
The mast and sail were blown overboard. The 



92 EARLY HISTORY CF VIRGINIA. 

party were driven upon an island, and there obliged 
to stay two days. 

As the weather then cleared up, they made a sail 
of their shirts, steered for the main land again, 
and fell in with the river Cuscarowoak. Here the 
Indians gave them a cool reception. Some ran about 
the shore, in large troops, as if frightened, having 
never before seen white people. Others climbed 
into the tops of trees, all shooting their arrows at 
the English boatmen, while the latter lay off at a 
little distance from land, making signs of friend- 
ship. 

The Indians seemed to be pacified at length ; and 
the next day, they came without arms, dancing in a 
ring, and each man bearing a basket. But the 
English soon found that this was only a stratagem 
to entice them nearer. They therefore discharged 
a volley of musketry at them, which alarmed the In- 
dians so much, that they fell to the ground, as if dead. 
They soon after tumbled and crawled off, most of 
them into a cluster of underbush hard by, where 
their chief force lay in ambuscade. 

After this, seeing a smoke on the other bank of 
the river. Smith and his men rowed over, and land- 
ed there. They found a few small houses, with a 
fire in each. There they left some pieces of copper, 
some beads, bells and looking-glasses, and returned 
to the water till morning. This had a good effect ; 
for four of the Indians paddled out in a canoe, the 
next day, to see them. These four were so well 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 93 

treated, that they begged of the English to stay till 
they could return ashore, and come back again. 

They went and came back, accordingly, and 
twenty more with them. In a short time, a very 
large crowd of women and children was collected 
on the shore, anxious to trade. They came about 
the English sailors, and gave away whatever they 
had to give. A single bead would entirely sat- 
isfy them for any quantity of corn; and they be- 
came so friendly to Smith, at last, as to almost quar- 
rel which should go and bring water for him, or 
which should guide his men about on the shore. 

One would think, from this account of these 
good-natured and unsuspecting savages, that noth- 
ing but kind treatment was necessary to secure their 
friendship and favor. 

On a cluster of isles, which Smith called Rus- 
sell's isles, his men searched a long time for 
fresh water, but in vain. They finally obtained 
three small wooden vessels full, but of such " puddle- 
water," that, at any other time, they would not have 
offered it to dogs ; but even this, after searching 
two days for better, in vain, they would not have 
exchanged for as much gold. 

At other times, they came near starving. But 
here and there they met with places, along the 
coast, where the fish were so thick as almost to 
crowd each other out of water. They amused 
themselves by driving their barge in among a shoal 
of them, as they skipped and leaped about upon the 



94 EARLY HISTORY OP VIRGINIA. 

waves. Once, for want of nets, one of Smith's 
crew seized upon a frying-pan, and ran it among 
them, expecting to catch enough for a meal, no 
doubt, and cook them on the spot. But, as Smith 
says in his journal, " they found it a bad instrument 
to catch fish with. Neither better fish, more plenty, 
nor more variety for smal fish, had any of vs euer 
scene in any place, so swimming in the water — but 
they are not to be caught with frying-pans." 

The Susquehannock Indians, whom I have men- 
tioned before, became exceedingly pleased with 
Smith, when he landed among them on his second voy- 
age. In one case, a crowd of them stood by on the 
shore, while Smith's crew were attending to prayers 
and to singing a psalm, which was the daily custom. 
'The Indians were astonished at these ceremonies, 
but, having waited till they were over, began to hold 
tip their hands to the sun, with a wild song of wor- 
ship, and then crowded about Captain Smith, to 
adore him in the same manner. They seemed to 
consider him something more than man. 

He rebuked their folly ; but they persisted in fin- 
ishing the song. They then began a loud oration, 
accompanied with the most violent gestures, thus ex- 
pressing their respect. This being over, one of them 
covered Smith with a great painted bear-skin. An- 
other hung a long chain of white beads, weighing 
six or seven pounds, about his neck. Others 
brought him eighteen mantles of rich skins. All 
these they laid at his feet, and then began stroking 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 95 



/ 



their hands over his head, by way of making him 
their governor and protector. They promised him 
every thing they possessed, if he would stay and 
fight with them against their mortal enemies,, the 
Massawomeks. Smith could scarcely get away by 
promising to visit them the next spring. 

In sailing up the Rappahannock river, after this, 
Smith had a skirmish with these Massawomeks, and 
took a number of their targets from them. These 
targets were made of small sticks, woven together 
with strings of hemp and silk-grass, so closely, that 
an arrow would not pierce them. They came in 
good time to be used in defence against the Rappa- 
hannocks, who were hostile to the English. 

At one place in the river, thirty or forty of these 
sly savages stationed themselves on a point of land, 
in ambush. They had covered themselves with 
green boughs in such a style as to resemble a 
thicket of bushes. The English were rowing by, 
without observing them, when a discharge of ar- 
rows warned them of this strange enemy. The ar- 
rows did no damage, however. Smith had stuck 
up small pillars, like bed-posts, in the edges of his 
barge, instead of the usual little tholl-pins, to row 
by. These pillars he covered with the Massawo- 
mek targets all around, so that the arrows only 
clattered upon the outside, and fell into the river. 
He gave the Indians a volley of pistol-shot, in re- 
turn, and they soon dropped their bushes, and fled 
like a flock of birds. 



96 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

Newport arrived at Jamestown, again, in the fall 
of 1608, with more presents for Powhatan ; and 
Smith was induced to carry a message to that king. 
Powhatan was not at home when he arrived, and 
Pocahontas entertained him, meanwhile, with the 
following ceremonies. A fire was made on a large, 
level field, before which he sat down on a mat. 
Suddenly, such a hideous yelling was heard among 
the woods, that Smith seized upon his arms, and 
started up. He supposed that Powhatan was com- 
ing upon him with his whole force. 

But Pocahontas presently approached him, and 
pledged her life that no hurt should be done him. 
Thirty young women now came out from the woods, 
painted of various colors, but all different, and 
wearing sashes of woven leaves. Their leader had 
a large pair of buck's horns on her head, an otter's 
skin at her girdle, another on her arm, a quiver of 
arrows at her shoulder, and a bow in her hand. 

The next had in her hand a sword, another a 
club, a third a potstick ; others carrying other instru- 
ments, and all wearing horns. With loud cries, 
they now cast themselves into a circle about the 
fire, " singing and dauncing," as Smith writes, " with 
the most excellent ill varietie, oft falling into their 
infernall passions, and solemnly again to sing and 
daunce. Having spent near an hour in this mascara- 
do, as they entred, in like manner they departed." 

The Indian women now invited Smith to their 
lodgings. But he no sooner entered a house, than 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 97 




Indian women dancing before Smith. 



98 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA 

these nymphs, intending to entertain him with due 
respect, came crowding about him worse than 
ever. This was not so pleasant to him as they 
probably expected ; especially as so many of them 
hung about his neck and arms, that he could 
scarcely stir or speak. He bore it all very quietly, 
however, knowing it to be well meant. 

This warm reception being over, a feast was 
spread for him, composed of all the barbarous dain- 
ties they could muster — corn, bread, crabs, oysters, 
cucumbers, venison, turkeys and fish, raw and roast- 
ed, enough to have satisfied a regiment. He sat 
down and ate what he could, some waiting upon 
him, and others amusing him with more songs and 
dancing. They then led him to his own lodging, 
by the light of fire-brands. 

" Thus did they shew their feets of arms, and others art in dauncinof : 
Some others vs'd their oaten pipe, and others' voyces chaunting.'* 



CHAPTER XI. 

Anecdotes of King Powhatan. More Adventures of Smith, 
He returns to England. State of the Colony at that Time. 
Its History for several Years after. It is at one Time 
near being abandoned. Massacre of the 22d of March 
1622. 

On the return of Powhatan, Smith delivered the 
message of Newport, and invited the king to visit 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 99 

Jamestown for the purpose of receiving the presents. 
"Sir," answered the haughty savage, "if your king 
has sent me presents, I am also a king, and this is 
my land. As for the Manakins, against whom he 
promises me his aid, I can revenge my own wrongs." 
Smith returned home with this message. Newport 
soon after visited the king, and, with much difficulty, 
persuaded him to accept of a crown and a scarlet 
cloak. 

In 1609, Smith went to see the Indians again, 
and Powhatan endeavored to get possession of his 
person ; but his life was saved by Pocahontas, who 
came through the woods, in the night, to a camp 
where he was then staying, and warned him of his 
danger. After this. Smith visited Opechanca- 
nough, at Pamunkey. They had agreed upon a place 
where they might meet to trade ; but when Smith 
came there, he was beset by seven hundred savages. 
He boldly seized Opechancanough by the hair, 
and led him, trembling, into the midst of his people. 
The latter laid down their arms, and ransomed their 
prisoner by a large present of corn to Smith. He 
left them the next day. 

An Indian war took place after this, during 
which Smith went up one of the Chesapeake rivers. 
On his return to Jamestown, a bag of powder took 
fire, by some accident, as he slept in the boat. He 
was burnt in a dreadful manner. In the agony of 
his pain, he plunged into the water, and narrowly 
escaped being drowned. A mutiny took place at 



100 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

Jamestown on his return, the mutineers expecting 
to take advantage of Smith's illness. They were 
soon quelled, however, by his old comrades in arms, 
who were much attached to him. 

But a little before this, he had narrowly escaped 
being poisoned to death by an Indian ; at another 
time, as he strayed alone in the woods, he was at- 
tacked by the king of Paspahey, a giant savage. 
After a violent struggle, he brought the king to the 
ground, bound him, and carried him on his shoul- 
ders into Jamestown. After all these astonishing 
adventures, Smith embarked for England, from 
which country he never returned. Mr. Percy was 
chosen president in his stead. 

Smith left behind him, at the colony, three ships 
and seven boats, a stock of goods for trade, the corn 
just gathered, ten weeks' provision in the store, twen- 
ty-four cannon, and three hundred muskets. The 
colony now consisted of four hundred and ninety 
persons : a hundred of these were trained soldiers. 
The others had nets for fishing, and tools of all sorts 
for work. There were, at this time, seven horses 
owned among them, five or six hundred hogs, an 
abundance of poultry, and some sheep and goats. 

The colonists never needed Smith more than dur- 
ing the very season after he left them. The savages, 
probably aware of his departure, now came upon 
them from all quarters. Ratcliffe and thirty men 
were surrounded by Powhatan, at one time, and 
slain. One boy only escaped, saved by the pity of 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. IQl 




Smith carrying Paspahey. 



9* ' 



10^ EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

Pocahontas. The colonists were near starving at 
the same time. Those who had starch in their 
houses, were glad to eat even that. The very skins 
of their horses were stewed and hashed. The poor- 
er people even took up an Indian they had buried, 
boiled the body with roots and herbs, and ate it. I 
could tell still more horrible stories, but they would 
shock you. The year 1610 was long remembered 
as the " starving year." 

The colonists were soon after so disheartened, 
that they embarked on board their vessels, with all 
their stores, and actually dropped down the James 
river as far as Mulberry island, with the intention 
of leaving the country forever. Not a man staid at 
Jamestown. But, as they lay anchored at the island, 
a boat suddenly came in sight. The colonists 
watched it with streaming eyes. Their decks 
and shrouds were crowded with gazers. Every eye 
and ear was on the watch. The boat approached 
with the news that Lord de la War was close at hand 
with an English fleet and a supply of stores. With 
this fleet the colonists returned to Jamestown. 

In 1611, Mr. Dale, who was president one year, 
built a town near a place now called Tuckahoe. It 
was called Henrico, in honor of a son of King 
James, and was built at the mouth of Henrico River, 
on a plain of high land. The approach to it on the 
land side was steep, and the neck, being palisadoed, 
made it as safe as an island. It had three streets 
of well-framed houses, a handsome church, and 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 103 

Store and watch houses. Five fortified houses stood 
upon the verge of the river-bank, inhabited by the 
richer colonists ; and these kept a continual guard 
against the Indians. 

About two miles from the town, another palisade 
was run across the main land, fi-om Henrico to the 
nearest river, a distance of two miles. This en- 
closure, bordering on the sea, contained their 
corn grounds, and was secured by several small 
forts. A great ditch was made along the river-bank, 
within all the rest, the traces of which, I am told, 
may still be seen, overgrown with large and stately 
trees. A palisade was also built on the south side 
of the river, to make a range for their hogs. 

This was two and a half miles long, and secured 
by four forts, called Charity, Elizabeth, Patience 
and Malady, with a sort of hospital for the 
sick, on a high and dry ground, where Jefferson 
church has since stood. All this enclosure was 
called by the queer name of '' Hope in Faith and 
Coxendale." Their clergyman, Mr. Whitaker, 
chose also to live on the hog side of the river, per- 
haps to be near the sick. He enclosed a fine par- 
sonage for himself, with a hundred acres of good 
land, all which he called Rock-Hall. 

I have but little more time to follow up the Vir- 
ginian history with you, and shall soon have done 
with it. I should not have told you so many and so 
long stories, but I have hoped some of them might be 
as new as they are true ; and, besides, this colony was 



104 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

the most important for a long time, as well as the 
earliest. From what T have told and shall tell 
you of this, you may form a tolerable idea of the 
first settlements in the other Southern and Middle 
States, without my being so particular concerning 
all of them. 

I will finish, while I think of it, the story of that 
fine Indian girl, Pocahontas, who twice saved the life 
of our brave old friend, Captain Smith. She was 
in the habit of bringing or sending in provisions to 
Jamestown, for some time after Smith's first ac- 
quaintance with her, for the relief of the colonists. 
Every other day, four or five of her stout Indians, 
whom, as a king's daughter, she commanded at 
pleasure, came lugging in loads of venison, and 
sweet Indian bread, as yellow as gold, and plenty 
of wild game. For this she refused all compensa- 
tion, but the gratitude of the colony and the friend- 
ship of Smith. 

In 1612, when Captain Argall came over from 
England, with a view to trade with Powhatan 
and his tribes, he found them in a state of war 
with the English. He thought, however, if he could 
get possession of the old king's beloved and beauti- 
ful daughter, as a hostage, this war would soon 
cease, and a fine trade might be driven with the 
savages. By means of Japazaws, a Potowmac sa- 
chem, he learned that Pocahontas was concealed 
somewhere near the mouth of the Potowmac, and, 
without the least mercy on the poor girl, he bribed 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 105 

Japazaws to surprise her and deliver her into his 
hands, giving him a bright copper kettle for his 
reward. 

Powhatan was now greatly afflicted. He even 
sent two of his sons to Jamestown, to offer Governor 
Gates all the guns, tools and prisoners he had taken 
from the English, as a ransom for his daughter. 
This was refused ; but the young men brought him 
back an account of her being well treated, 
which pleased and soothed him. Not long after 
this, one Mr. Rolfe proposed marriage to Pocahon- 
tas. He had long been attached to her, it is said, 
Indian as she was ; and she had no great dislike for 
him. She sent to her father, however, to obtain his 
consent to the marriage. The plan pleased , the 
king greatly. He sent his brother and two sons, 
within ten days, to witness the marriage ceremonies ; 
and from this time he continued quite friendly to 
the colonists. 

In 1G14, one Mr, Hamer, of Jamestown, paid the 
king a visit, carrying some strings of white and blue 
beads, fine wooden combs, fish-hooks, knives and 
copper, as presents. The old king treated him po- 
litely, offered him a pipe of tobacco, and inquired 
for the health of Dale, who was now governor, and, 
also, how his daughter liked her husband, and how 
her husband liked her. Hamer said they liked 
each other so well, that she would never return to 
her father's. Powhatan laughed at this answer, and 
then demanded the object of Hamer's journey. 

E* 



106 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

The latter told him, that Governor Dale, hearing 
of the beauty of his second daughter, wished to mar- 
ry her, and desired the king to send her to James- 
town, at all events, if it were only to visit her elder 
sister, Pocahontas. The king had hardly patience 
enough to hear Hamer finish this message. He 
answered with great gravity, in a solemn voice : 
" He could not part with both daughters, thoilgh 
he should gladly live in peace with the English. 
He had grown old, and desired no more fighting ; 
but he could not part with his child." 

Pocahontas went to England with her husband, 
after this. She was an object of great curiosity and 
attention in London for several years. She learned 
the English language, and was baptized under the 
name of Lady Rebecca. Lady de la War took her 
to court also, and King James treated her with 
great kindness. After this. Captain Smith visited 
her at Brentford, where she resided with her hus- 
band. She could scarcely restrain her feelings at 
seeing Smith. She died at Gravesend, in 1616. 
Her descendants are among the most respectable 
people in Virginia to this day. Powhatan died 
subsequently, being nearly a hundred years old. 

I have yet to tell you how Jamestown and the 
other smaller English settlements, now being nearly 
80 in number, were all attacked at the same time, 
by the savages, in 1622. This was on the 22d of 
March, the tribes round about having all been drawn 
together by Opechancanough, the brother of Pow- 



EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 107 

hatan. They had assembled from various parts of 
the country, marching secretly through the woods by 
night. The English were in perfect security, mean- 
while, supposing the Indians to be friendly as ever. 
Opechancanough was so artful as to send presents 
of venison and wild fowl to the English on the 
morning of the fatal day. " Sooner shall the sky 
fall," said this deceitful old sachem, " than the 
peace shall be violated on my part." 

But the terrible hour soon came. At mid-day, 
at a given signal, the savages rushed out in immense 
numbers from the woods, all around the villages 
and houses of the whites. The air resounded far and 
wide with their yells. They fell upon man, woman 
and child, without mercy, mangling even the dead 
bodies of the murdered English, with the most fero- 
cious cruelty. In one hour, three hundred and 
forty-seven of the English werie killed. So sudden 
was the attack, that the people hardly knew who 
were their enemies, or where they had come from. 
It was mere chance that saved the colony from en- 
tire ruin. 

A Christian Indian, named Chanco, lived with one 
Richard Pace, and was kindly treated by him and 
his family. The night before the massacre, a 
brother of Chanco came and slept with him, told 
him the whole Indian plot, and directed him to un- 
dertake the murder of his master the next day. 
Poor Chanco was shocked, and, the moment his 
brother had gone, disclosed the scheme to his master. 



108 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

Word was immediately sent off in all directions 
among the English ; and thus Jamestown and some 
other places were saved. The Indians were severe- 
ly punished for this massacre within a few years, 
and never after gave the colony much trouble. 

I have now told my young reader of the principal 
events which occurred in the early history of Vir- 
ginia. After the massacre just related, nothing of 
great interest occurred : the settlements increased, 
village after village sprung up in the wilderness, 
and the colony became rich and powerful ; the In- 
dians gradually retired to the interior, as the white 
people encroached upon their hunting grounds, and, 
after many years, there were only a few scattered 
remnants of the mighty tribes who once threatened 
to drive the English emigrants away from the 
country. 

Such is the story of the settlement of Virginia. 
When the revolutionary war broke out, it was one 
of the most powerful of all the English colonies in 
America. The people took an active part in that 
struggle ; and you will find an account of their pro- 
ceedings in the Story of the Revolution, which 
I have written, and which you have, perhaps, read. 
I shall now proceed to tell you of the other south- 
ern colonies. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 109 



CHAPTER XII. 

History of Carolina resumed. The Albemarle Colony. 
Colony at Oldtown Creek. The loiter abandon their 
Settlement. Their Place taken by a Colony from Bar' 
badoes. History of the latter. Settlement of Charles^ 
ton. Anecdotes of all these Settlements. The Arrival 

'ofa Colony of Palatines from Germany. Settlement of 
JVeicbem. 

We will return, now, to the history of Carolina. 
This general name was long given to all that terri- 
tory now included in the bounds of North and 
South Carolina, together with a vast belt of land, 
extending, according to the grants of King Charles 
II., from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. The 
first grant was to eight English noblemen and gen- 
tlemen of high rank, and was dated March 24, 
1663. They received a second and more definite 
charter in 1665, having at this time acquired better 
information about the country. 

There were two settlements, at the latter date, 
within what is now North Carolina. The princi- 
pal one was located a Kttle north of Albemarle 
sound. The other wad a small colony, who had re- 
moved from Massachusetts in 1660, and settled 
upon what is now called Oldtown creek, near the 
south side of Clarendon river. They deserted their 
habitations in less than two years, and returned 
home, leaving many hogs and neat cattle in the 
10 



no EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

hands of the Indians. The latter had quarrelled 
with them, and killed and stolen their cattle, for 
having sent off a few of their Indian children, to 
be educated in Massachusetts, as the colonists said, 
but as the Indians suspected, to be made slaves of 

The loss of this colony was soon supplied by an- 
other of English planters from the island of Barbadoes. 
These planters, wishing to settle on the American 
continent, employed one Captain Hitten to explore 
the coast, in a small vessel, with a crew of fif- 
teen or twenty men. He was ordered to be partic- 
ular in examining the lands which the Massachu- 
setts people had just left. In September, 1663, he 
landed within cape Fear, and proceeded up Claren- 
don river with his boat, till his progress was stopped 
by floating logs. Soon after this, he purchased 
from the Indians a large tract of land, for which he 
paid them in kettles and beads. 

The Barbadoes planters afterwards obtained a title 
to this same tract, from the eight proprietors ; for it 
was necessary to purchase both of them and of the 
savages. The latter knew nothing of the grant of 
King Charles to his eight noblemen ; and if they 
had known and understood it, it would only have 
enraged them. They considered themselves the 
masters of the soil. King Charles had no more 
right to it, in their view, than **the man in the 
moon" had to England. The Barbadoes colony 
settled, in 1665, near the mouth of Oldtown creek ; 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. Ill 

and both this and the Albemarle colony were soon 
provided with governments. 

These Barbadoes people took the same method 
of increasing their strength which you will find 
was quite generally adopted in the Southern States. 
They were allowed, by the eight proprietors, to offer 
to every settler, who should join them within two 
y^'ars, one hundred acres of land, and the same 
quantity for his men-servants, and each of his chil- 
dren. He was also to have fifty acres for each of 
his women-servants and slaves, upon the condition 
that he should bring with him a good musket, ten 
pounds of powder, twenty pounds of lead, and pro- 
visions for six months. Every man-servant was to 
have, when free, one hundred acres of land, two 
suits of apparel, and the necessary tools for his 
trade. 

Some temptations of this kind were certainly 
needed to induce people to settle with the Barba- 
does colony. They had, unluckily, pitched upon a 
tract of land, which was so far from being fertile, 
that I much doubt, if the nature of it had been gen- 
erally known, whether settlers would have taken 
it as a gift. Land was not scarce in those days ; 
and none but tolerably good land, and especially 
that on the banks of rivers, would sell for so much 
as a cent an acre. 

The colony supported itself, for a few years, by 
exporting boards, shingles, timber and staves to 



112 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

Barbadoes, receiving dry goods and West Indian 
produce in return. Their numbers, however, were 
continually decreasing by removal, till 1690, when 
the whole country was once more left in possession 
of the savages. All that remained of the Barbadoes 
planters, at the last date of the settlement, are sup- 
posed to have returned home. The colony had, 
at one time, consisted of one thousand persons. 

Meanwhile, the eight proprietors had fitted out a 
vessel for making discoveries in the southern part 
of their territories. With this vessel. Captain Wil- 
liam Sayle, or Seal, was sent from England in 1668. 
He was driven by a storm among the Bahama isles, 
but afterwards sailed along the coast of Carolina. 
Here he discovered several large, navigable rivers, 
emptying themselves into the ocean, and a flat coast, 
covered with woods. 

He attempted to go ashore in his boat, at one 
place, but desisted on observing some savages along 
the banks of the river. The proprietors were 
pleased, on the whole, with the account which he 
gave of the country, on his return to England. The 
next year, they fitted out two ships, with arms, pro- 
visions, instruments of husbandry, and a colony of 
adventurers, for planting a settlement. Seal was 
appointed their gorernor. He fixed the colony at 
Port Royal, in South Carolina, where he found good 
water and a good harbor, which were two great ob- 
jects. This was near the present site of Beaufort. 

But the colonists were not long satisfied with 



AMD OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 113 

their situation. They soon removed to Wando and 
Keawah, as the Indians called what are now Coo- 
per and Ashley rivers, and finally settled, in 1680, 
on Oyster Point. This was the first planting of 
Charleston, now one of the largest cities in the South- 
ern States. The back country was then an immense 
hunting-ground, filled with wild animals, and over- 
grown with forests ; it was interspersed here and 
there with vast swamps, and roamed over, rather 
than inhabited, by a great number of savage tribes. 

It seemed fortunate for the colony, that the num- 
ber of these Indians was, about this time, much 
reduced. The Westoes and Savannahs, the two most 
powerful tribes, were wagmg a ferocious war with 
each other, which resulted in the entire expulsion 
of the Westoes from the province. The small-pox, 
also, probably introduced among them by the Span- 
iards of Florida, made horrible ravages. 

Still, the colonists were in constant fear of Indian 
attacks. In fact, while part of them were employed 
in raising their little habitations of logs or rough 
timber, the rest were always kept under arms, to 
watch the savages. They did not even venture 
along the sea-shore, to gather oysters, without car- 
rying their muskets, swung upon the shoulder. 
These oysters, by the way, were quite an important 
article of food. They had but little other, indeed, 
for some time — excepting fish from the rivers, or 
what wild game they could kill with their guns. 

At this time, they had no slaves to work for them, 
10* 



114 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

except a very few they had bought at Barbadoes, where 
they touched on the passage from England. They 
labored with their own hands, therefore ; and till 
the trees were felled, and the grounds cleared, 
not even domestic animals could be of much ser- 
vice to them. Their scanty provisions, when raised, 
were liable to be seized upon by plundering parties 
of Indians ; and thus one day often robbed a plant- 
er of the fruits of a year's hard labor. Much of the 
land, moreover, was sandy and barren; and the 
soil was unsuited to European grains. At one time, 
all the horrors of famine were anticipated. A sloop 
was despatched to Virginia for provisions, and an- 
other to Barbadoes ; but, before their return, the 
colony was supplied from England. These things 
may give you some idea of the difficulties of an ear- 
ly settlement. 

The colony of Albemarle, in North Carolina, was 
more prosperous in its beginning than the two last 
mentioned. It consisted, within a few years from 
the time of its settlement, of two thousand taxable 
inhabitants, of whom one third were negroes or In- 
dians, men or women slaves. The land was fertile ; 
and the planters raised near eight hundred hogs- 
heads of tobacco each season. This was their sta- 
ple commodity, though the culture of other articles 
had been encouraged by a provision of the king's 
charter, that silk, raisins, wax, almonds, oil and 
olives might be exported to England, free of all 
taxes, for the term of seven years. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 115 

But the colonists had so many other matters to 
think of, that they kept neither bees, silk-worms, 
nor orchards. The English proprietors supposed 
that they neglected these things merely from igno- 
rance, the manufacture of silk and wine requiring 
particular skill. They sent over, therefore, in 1680, 
fifty families of Huguenots or French Protestants, 
driven from France for their religious opinions, and 
who were very glad to find an asylum in America. 
These people were familiar with the culture of the 
grape and the management of the silk-worm ; and 
some experiments were made with both in Carolina, 
under their instruction. The latter did not succeed ; 
but they cultivated the vine, the almond, the fig 
and the olive-tree to advantage. Most of these have 
been since neglected. 

This colony was harassed with several incapable 
or unprincipled governors. In 1679 began the ad- 
ministration of Seth Sothel, to whom Lord Clar- 
endon, one of the eight proprietors, had sold out his 
share. From Sothel, as being now interested as 
proprietor, a good deal was expected. But never 
was a people more sadly disappointed. He was 
captured by an Algerine privateer, on his passage 
to Carolina; and some persons supposed, or at least 
said, after his arrival in the colony, that among the 
Algerines he must have acquired the better part of 
his character and manners. 

His avarice was insatiable. For the sake of re- 
ceiving good fees as bribes, he disputed the best 



116 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

titles; and vexed the fairest traders in the colony, till 
they paid him sufficiently for letting them alone. 
For a good round sum, he would suffer even felons 
to escape from punishment, and imprison the inno- 
cent for still less. Having oppressed the northern 
colony, in this manner, for six years, he was ap- 
pointed governor of the southern, at Charleston. 
At the latter place, in 1692, the people became so 
disgusted with him, that they seized upon him, and 
sent him to England, to be tried, as he afterwards 
was, by the proprietors. The population of the 
northern colony was reduced one half, by removal, 
during his six years' rule. 

He was even accused, on the oath of one Porter, 
of having taken some lace, and two guineas in 
money, from a box intrusted to his care by Mr. 
Banks of London, and sent over to the sister of 
Mr. B. in Carolina. With the example of rulers 
before them, who could be guilty of conduct of this 
kind, or even be suspected of it, it is not wonderful 
that crimes should increase among the colonists. 
In 1720, at one session of the Albemarle court, 
thirty-six persons were indicted. Among them 
were seven for drunkenness, eight for profane swear- 
ing, seven for Sabbath-breaking, and five for steal- 
ing or mismarking hogs. But two persons in the 
colony, however, had as yet been punished with 
death. These were a Turk, for murder, and a poor 
old woman, on suspicion of witchcraft. 

At this time, money was so scarce in all the colo- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 117 

nies I have mentioned, that rents and most other 
debts were paid in some other article. For exam- 
ple, when judgment was obtained in court, for dam- 
ages to a certain amount, the entry was made in 
the clerk's docket, with the following addition — 
" payable in deer-skins, hides, tallow, or small furs, 
at the usual price." 

About the year 1700, the Albemarle colony be- 
gan to be called the " colony of North Carolina." 
The governor, in his commission, was then styled 
" Governor, captain-general, admiral, and command- 
er-in-chief of that part of the province of Carolina 
which lies north-east of cape Fear." 

A rebellion took place, in this colony, in 1710, 
headed by one Thomas Cary. This man had been 
collector of the revenue under the proprietors ; but, 
having neglected to account with them honestly and 
promptly, they turned him out of office without cer- 
emony. Mr. Hyde was sent over from England, 
about the same time, with a governor's commission. 
He arrived, on the 10th of August, at Edenton, 
where he found Cary in arms. The latter had a 
brigantine and a smaller vessel under his command, 
manned by a set of desperadoes like himself; and 
the governor having taken lodgings at a house in 
the village, Cary audaciously undertook to seize 
upon him. 

He and his party were repulsed, however, with 
the loss of some blood ; and, the people not joining 
him, as the miserable wretch had expected, he now 



118 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

retreated to Pamlico. There he began to fortify him- 
self in the house of one Roach. The latter had 
just arrived from London with a cargo of goods, on 
the account of some English merchants. He im- 
mediately declared himself against the government, 
joined Gary in all his plans, and furnished his des- 
peradoes with guns, ammunition and rum. This 
riotous mob, having now surrounded themselves 
with a stockade, boldly bid defiance to the govern- 
ment. 

Luckily, there was a body of English troops in 
Virginia at this time. Governor Hyde applied for 
their assistance ; and a party of marines soon joined 
him from the guardships that lay in Hampton 
roads. Gary's mob dispersed as the marines ap- 
proached. Several of the ringleaders were seized 
and punished. Gary himself, with one Truit, his 
right-hand man, escaped to Virginia, where they 
were apprehended and sent to England for trial. 
The others were pardoned. 

The early population of the southern provinces 
was made up, much more than the northern, of 
colonists from various nations. A colony of French 
Huguenots settled, in 1707, upon Trent river. The 
leading character among them was their clergy- 
man, Rybourg. They were sober and frugal men. 
A German colony came over, not long after this, 
from Heidelberg, on the river Necker. These poor 
people had suffered persecution for adhering to their 
religious faith. It would have been hard for them. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 119 

indeed, to have .changed it often enough to satisfy 
their German rulers j for though the elector pala- 
tine, Frederic II., was a Lutheran, his son and suc- 
cessor was a Calvinist; Lodovic V. restored the 
Lutheran church ; his son became a Calvinist ; and 
the next elector was a bigoted Roman Catholic. 

They had been so unfortunate, too, as to live be- 
tween powerful political rivals, who were often at 
war. In 1622, Count Tilly, the Austrian general, 
took the city of Heidelberg, and put five hundred 
of the inhabitants to the sword. Twelve years 
after, the city was taken by Louis XIV., the French 
monarch. In 1688, it was taken a second time by 
the French, who laid the poor Germans under a 
monstrously heavy contribution ; after which, at the 
approach of the Austrian army, they blew up the 
citadel, and reduced the town to ashes. It was re- 
built, and taken a third time by the French, in 
1693, who again committed it to the flames. 

The inhabitants, men, women and children, 
fifteen thousand in number, were, on this latter oc- 
casion, stripped of their property, and turned into 
the fields by night. On the retreat of the French, 
their elector persuaded them' to rebuild the city once 
more, on a promise of allowing them liberty of con- 
science, and exemption from all taxes for thirty 
years. But he forgot this promise, and persecuted 
them, within a few years, without mercy. More- 
over, the French army was now coming upon them 
again ; and the poor Palatines, finding no hope lefi^ 



120 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

for them in their own country, fled to England, 
about six thousand in number, for protection. 

They pitched their tents near London, and were 
there supported, for some months, by public charity. 
At this time, Lewis Mitchel and one Graffenried 
were attempting to mend their fortunes by purchas- 
ing lands in some of the English colonies. The 
proprietors of Carolina had leased them ten thou- 
sand acres in one body, between the river Neuse 
and cape Fear, at a rent of twenty shillings for 
every hundred acres. Whoever should be first 
able to pay the usual sum for five thousand acres, 
was to be honored by a title from the queen, 
Anne. Graffenried had mustered money enough 
to make this purchase, and was created a baron by 
the queen. 

He and Mitchel wanted nothing, now, but ten- 
ants to occupy their American land. They made 
a proposal, therefore, to the commissioners, who 
had been appointed by Qlueen Anne to collect and 
receive money for the poor Palatines. They cove- 
nanted to transport six hundred and fifty of them, 
being about one hundred families, to North Caroli- 
na, and to lay off" for each family two hundred and 
fifty acres of land, to be held five years without cost, 
and after that for the annual rent of two pence per 
acre. The Palatines were to be supplied twelve 
months with necessary provisions, to be paid for in 
one year ; they were to be furnished, gratis, with 
tools for building houses, and, within four months 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 121 

after their arrival, two cows and two calves, five 
swine, two ewe sheep and two lambs, and some 
other things of the kind, to each family. These 
were to be paid for in seven years. 

The commissioners, on the other hand, allowed 
five pounds sterling, per head, for transporting the 
Palatines. The latter arrived, in December of 1709, 
at the confluence of the rivers Neuse and Trent,, 
where they immediately set up temporary shelters. 
The place where they encamped was called New 
Bern (since Newbern), from Berne, in Switzerland, 
■where Graffenried was born. The worthy Pala- 
tines prospered from this time, getting a good living 
with ease, and worshipping God according to the 
dictates only of their own consciences. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Some Account of the Indians of Carolina. Their friendly 
Disposition towards the first Settlers. Occasion of the 
first Interruption of this Harmony. Adventure of Baron 
Graffenried among the Tuskaroras. His narroio Escape. 
Fate of his Companions. 

Hitherto, the Indians had given tne north and 
south Carolinians but little trouble ; but we come 
now to a different state of things. There were 
tribes of savages around the Albemarle settle- 
ment, on almost every branch of every river. 
11 F 



122 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

These Indians lived more on fish, and much less on 
venison, bears' flesh, and other wild game, than 
their countrymen farther back. This circumstance, 
and the inoffensive conduct of the white settlers, 
were the occasions of their long peace of sixty years. 
The settlers purchased land of them, and paid for it 
promptly, the Indians generally reserving a square 
of some three or four miles, including their towns. 

Some slight disputes had been occasioned by 
strono- drink ; but Governor Daniel, who was an 
exception to the bad governors I have mentioned, 
stipulated with the Indian chiefs, in 1703, in 
a solemn treaty, that no rum should be sold to 
an Indian by any trader. The young Indians, 
however, complained of this, as a restraint upon 
their natural liberty. Some time afterwards, they 
demanded and obtained the usual supply of rum, 
unawed by the great havoc which strong drink 
had occasioned among the tribes. 

The Chowanoke Indians, who could bring three 
thousand bowmen into the field in Smith's time, as 
we have seen, were now reduced to fifteen men. 
They lived in a miserable little village on Bennett's 
creek. The Mangoacks had equally diminished in 
strength. The powerful Muatocks had wholly dis- 
appeared : fifteen hundred volunteers, living on the 
north side of Albemarle sound, had assembled at 
Dasamonquipo, in 1585, for the massacre of the 
English colony on Roanoke island. But all the 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 123 

tribes to which these Indians belonged were now 
reduced to forty-six fighting men. 

In fact, the Tuskaroras, who lived on the Neuse 
river, were now the only powerful tribe in North 
Carolina ; they could muster one thousand two hun- 
dred fighting men ; the Waccon Indians one hun- 
dred and twenty ; and about a dozen other tribes 
together might muster half as many more. The 
Tuskaroras, living at some distance from the first 
settlements, had suffered little from the use of strong 
drink. These Indians had observed, however, with 
some anger, the encroachments of the whites upon 
the reserved squares of the various tribes, during 
the rebellious and other riotous times. 

Their temper was soured, too, by the frequent 
impositions of fraudulent white traders. The first 
white man who fell a sacrifice to their jealousy, was 
one John Lawson, well known among them as sur- 
veyor-general of the province of North Carolina. 
He had marked off some of their lands, accidental- 
ly, perhaps. Among the rest, a tract of five thou- 
sand acres, and another of ten thousand, had been 
lately surveyed for Graffenried. Soon after this, 
Lawson and Graffenried, together, undertook to ex- 
plore the waters of the Neuse. 

They took a small boat at New Bern, and as- 
cended the river. In the evening of the first day, 
they stopped at Coram, an Indian village, where 
they intended to lodge. Here they met two Tuska- 



124 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

roras, though Lawson had assured Graffenried, that 
the banks were uninhabited. These two were soon 
after joined by a great number more, well armed. 
The baron now grew uneasy. He whispered to 
Lawson, that they had better proceed up the river. 
Lawson assented, not liking the looks of the In- 
dians himself; and they began to move off from 
the fire they had made, towards the river. 

They had no sooner reached their boats, however^ 
than such a press of the savages followed close after 
them, that it became impossible to keep them off. 
They took the arms and provisions of the two trav- 
ellers, to begin with. They then stripped them of 
every thing else they possessed. The Indians after- 
wards compelled them to march off with themselves 
to an Indian village, at a considerable distance from 
the river. There the two captives were delivered 
to the sachem of the village. He immediately 
called a council, at which one of the Indians deliv- 
ered a long and violent speech in the savage style, 
distorting and beating himself. The question was 
then put, whether the whi.es should be bound : this 
was decided in the negative. The reason given 
was, that the guilty should always have an opportu- 
nity to defend and explain their conduct. Such an 
idea had these simple savages of the first principles 
of justice, and so strictly did they regard it. 

The next morning, the captives, anxious as to 
their fate, desired to know what the Indians intend- 
ed to do with them. They were told, that the sa- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 125 




Graffenried and Lawson taken hy the Savages. 



11^ 



126 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

chem would that evening invite a number of neigh- 
boring sachems to an entertainment, who would 
also assist in the trial, and the decision of the pris- 
oners' fate. In the evening, accordingly, upwards 
of two hundred Indians collected, forty of whom 
were chiefs, or leading men. By these forty, the 
prisoners were interrogated very closely, as to their 
intention in ascending the river. The latter replied, 
that they, were endeavoring to find and lay out some 
shorter and better road to Virginia than the present 
one travelled by the Carolina settlers. Such a 
road, they said, would accommodate the Indians as 
much as the English. 

The sachems were still dissatisfied. They com- 
plained much of the conduct of the Carolina coIo 
nies towards them, and charged Lawson, in particu- 
lar, with having sold their land. They said that 
one Hancock had stolen a gun from them; and 
that a Mr. Price had cheated them abominably, 
which, I dare say, was true. But, notwithstanding 
all this, they did not at this time object to the re- 
lease of the prisoners. 

The latter were examined again the next morn- 
ing, and gave the same answers as before. But it 
happened, unluckily, that an Indian named Cor 
Thomas, was now present, whom Lawson impru- 
dently reprimanded for certain ill conduct he had 
known him to be guilty of Cor, being irritated, 
gave a very unfavorable turn to the affairs of the 
prisoners. The council itself broke up without de- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 127 

ciding their fate ; but not long after, as Graffenried 
and Lawson were conversing together, an Indian, 
who understood a little English, and thought he 
understood a good deal more, informed the oth- 
er Indians, who were standing not far off, that 
the prisoners were talking very disrespectfully of 
them all. 

This was not true ; but they were ready enough 
to believe it, especially at the instigation of Cor, 
who had probably induced the Indian to tell the 
falsehood. Three or four of them now fell upon 
the two prisoners in the most furious manner, took 
them by the arms, and forced them to sit down upon 
the ground. The whole party of savages then col- 
lected about them in a circle. Some of them seized 
the wigs of the prisoners, and threw them away. 
The poor trembling Englishmen were then con- 
demned to immediate death. Lawson was to have 
his throat cut with his own razor, which had been 
found on his person ; and Graffenried was to be de- 
spatched in some other way. 

The execution was put off, however, until the 
day following, when they were taken to a place pre- 
pared for the purpose. Here they were tied, strip- 
ped of their surtouts, and compelled to sit down 
upon the ground, as before. A large fire was kin- 
dled before them : the savages now began a ceremo- 
ny which they generally practised on occasions of 
this kind, and something like that I have described 
to you in the adventures of Smith at the court of 



128 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

Powhatan. A part of the play was to form a ring 
or circle around the prisoners, on the ground ; and 
this they strewed with flowers. 

In this miserable situation, the Englishmen con- 
tinued all day and all night. Graffenried's negro 
slave, who had accompanied him, was now bound, 
and lay behind them, groaning, in dread of his 
wretched fate. On the morning of the next day, 
they were to die ; and a large number of Indians 
had collected to witness the execution. The pris- 
oners were gu;irded by an armed party, stationed be- 
hind them ; and the forty chiefs sat around them in 
two rows. Farther off were the common people, to 
the number of three hundred, "jumping and danc- 
ing," as Graffenried himself afterwards writes to 
Governor Hyde, " like so many devils, and cutting 
a variety of infernal and obscene capers," in the 
Indian style. 

As this letter of the baron is a good specimen 
of the style of writing in those days, I will con- 
clude my account of this transaction in his own 
words. " There were also present," he says, 
" two executioners of wild and terrible aspect, and 
two drummers. The council again deliberated, in 
order to put an end to this dismal tragedy. I rec- 
ommended my soul to my Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
and my thoughts were wholly employed with 
death. 

" At length, however, I recollected myself, and, 
turning to the council of chiefs, asked them if no 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 129 

mercy could be shown to the innocent ; and with 
what propriety they could put to death a king (for 
the Indians call a governor a king), and I was king 
of the Palatines. Thus God, in his mercy, heard 
my prayers, and softened the hard hearts of the 
savages, so that, after much talk from an honest In- 
dian, they altered my sentence of death, as will ap- 
pear from the treaty of peace. 

" A short time before Mr. Lawson's execution, I 
was set at liberty, and afterwards conducted to the 
house of the Indian who had spoken so much in 
my behalf; but my negro suffered death. I remain- 
ed in my captivity till the Sunday following, when I 
was brought on horse-back part of the way home, 
and had to foot it the rest. I should be glad to 
have some conversation with you on this subject, 
and to consider what measures ought to be taken 
against these people." 

It seems, then, that Lawson and the negro were 
killed ; while the baron escaped by his belonging to 
the German colony, and being a man of high rank 
in it. These German settlers had probably secured 
the affections of the Tuskaroras, by treating them 
more kindly than the English did. The treaty 
which the baron speaks of, and which he drew up 
with these Indians, as governor of the Palatines, 
amounted to this : it bound the two parties — 

1. To show friendship to each other on all occa- 

sions. 

2. In case of war between the Indians and Eng- 

F* 



130 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

lish, the Palatines were to remain neu- 
tral. 

3. No land was to be taken up by the baron, 

without consent of the Indians. 

4. The Indians were to hunt as freely as they 

chose in the open country. 

5. A cessation of arms between the English and 

Indians, was agreed upon for fourteen days. 
All this was subscribed by the baron, and the In- 
dian chiefs set their marks to it. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

General War of the JVorth Carolina Indians against the 
Whites. Massacre of many of the latter. The South 
Carolinians come to their Relief against the Savages.. 
The Indians are defeated. Renewal of Hostilities. As- 
sistance a second Time from the Southern Province. 
The Indians entirely conquered. Their subsequent 
History. 

There is no reason to suppose, th t the Indians 
intended a general war before Lawson fell into 
their hands ; but, having now committed themselves 
by killing a public officer of the colony, they re- 
solved, and, perhaps, thought it necessary, to go 
all lengths. I'hey finally agreed upon the plan of 
attacking and murdering, in one day, all the set- 
tlers south of the Albemarle sound. Graffenried,, 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 131 

who wrote his letter long after this, was detained 
among them till this bloody work should be finished. 
They began with surrounding their own principal 
town with a wooden breast-work, for the security of 
their own families. Here the various tribes assem- 
bled, to the number of twelve hundred bowmen,, 
and arranged their horrid plot. 

From this place, they sent out, on a certain day, 
numerous parties of six or seven men each,, who enter- 
ed the settlements under the mask of friendship, by 
different roads, to avoid suspicion. They did not even 
bring their fire-arms with them, but trusted to their 
tomahawks alone, which they carried concealed un- 
der their garments. The massacre was commenced- 
in all directions, at the same hour of the evening.- 
The plan generally adopted was to enter the plant- 
ers' houses, and demand food. With this they im- 
mediately pretended to be dissatisfied, and fell upon^ 
men, women and children, without mercy or dis- 
tinction. About Roanoke, one hundred and thirty- 
seven settlers fell a sacrifice to their savage fury, in 
the course of this single night. 

To prevent a communication of the alarm through- 
out the settlements, the Indians ran from house to 
house, slaughtering the scattered families wherever 
they went. But, fortunately, it was not possible to 
strike the blow every where at the same moment. 
Many of the settlers were in the woods and fields ; 
the alarm soon became general ; and people defend- 
ed themselves in their houses. All the families 



132 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

which escaped, were ordered, as soon as possible, to 
meet at one place, where the militia, under arms, 
kept guard over them till relief arrived. North 
Carolina did not contain two thousand fighting men 
in all, at this time. An express, therefore, had been 
immediately despatched to the southern province for 
assistance. 

Governor Craven lost no time in sending a force, 
as requested. The Charleston assembly voted 
four thousand pounds for the service of the war ; 
and a body of militia, under Colonel Barnwell,, 
marched against the savages. Directly after, were 
sent two hundred and eighteen friendly Cherokee 
Indians, seventy-nine Creeks, forty-one Catabaws„ 
and twenty-eight Yamassees, well furnished with 
arms, and commanded by five Carolinian captains. 
A bad march, indeed, had these poor fellows through 
the long wilderness. It was impossible to carry 
provisions enough on their backs in addition to their 
arms ; and there were no settlements or stations on 
the route, near, where food could be obtained. Be- 
sides, there was no road through the woods by 
which either horses or carriages could pass with 
tolerable convenience. 

But Barnwell was a hardy and brave soldier. 
He pressed on, through all obstacles, employing his 
Indian allies to hunt for provisions on the way. At 
length, they came up with the hostile savages, and 
immediately attacked them with great spirit. In 
this first battle, three hundred of the enemy were 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 133 

slain, and one hundred taken prisoners. The 
Taskaroras, about six hundred in number, now re- 
treated to their town, and enclosed themselves 
within the wooden breast-work. Barnwell followed 
them closely, and, being provided with two cannon, 
made regular approaches toward the Indian breast- 
work. His chief engineer was one Michell, a 
Swiss colonist. 

Michell understood his business well, and he 
soon run a parallel breast-work within thirty-three 
feet of the enemy's palisadoes. He had also pre- 
pared fagots to fill the intermediate space. But 
the Indians now began to dislike the appearance of 
things, and sued quite earnestly for peace, Barn- 
well was not unwilling to grant it ; several of his 
men were wounded, and all had suffered severely 
from watching, hunger and fatigue. 

Barnwell is supposed to have killed, wounded 
and captured, nearly one thousand Tuskaroras in 
this expedition. He was satisfied with this success, 
and marched home, having lost but five of his mili- 
tia, and thirty-six of his Indian allies. It has been 
said, — I know not with what truth, — that he marched 
off sooner than he should have done, on account of 
a misunderstanding, of an old date, between him- 
self and Governor Hyde, on whom he wished to 
throw the blame of the Indian war. 

The savages continued to give great trouble, at 
all events. The people on Neuse and Pamlico 
rivers were almost ruined by their incursions. 

12 



134 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

Their families were pent up in the forts, while their 
houses 9,nd furniture were burned by the Indians, 
and their whole stock of cattle, horses and hogs, 
was killed or carried off. The Pamlico settlers 
were even obliged to be supplied with provisions 
from the colony at Albemarle, and their whole fight- 
ing force, meanwhile, amounted to only one hun- 
dred and forty men. 

But I should mention, also, twenty Yamassee In- 
dians, who adhered to the colonists at this gloomy 
period, and rendered then the most important ser- 
vices. It was impossible, however, for these few 
men to defend the whole country ; and the Matta- 
muskeet and Core Indians killed or captured forty- 
three of the Roanoke and Croatan settlers during 
the winter. Application was made to Virginia for 
assistance, and the Virginian legislature voted one 
hundred and eighty pounds for purchasing duffils 
(a thick cloth), *' to clothe the North Carolina, 
troops, and one thousand pounds more for the pay 
of such troops." As the Carolinians could raise no 
troops, however, the liberality of the Virginians did 
them but little good. 

They then appealed to the southern province 
again, and were again befriended as before. Colo- 
nel Moore, a brave young officer, whose father had 
been governor of the province, arrived at the Neuse 
settlements on the first of December (1712), with 
forty white men, and eight hundred Ashley Indians. 
The Tuskaroras, soon after, encamped and fortified 



AND Ol'HER SOUTHERN STATES. 135 

themselves as before. They took their position 
upon a plain, on the banks of a creek, about a 
mile from Cotechney, and fifty miles from the mouth 
of that river. 

In order to secure themselves against the artillery 
of the English, this time, better than before, they 
sunk square pits in the grwnid, about six feet deep. 
These pits were covered with poles, and separated 
from each other by walls of earth, thrown up. The 
whole was surrounded with palisades. There was 
corn enough among them ; but one thing they for- 
got, which was a proper supply of water within the 
palisades. They trusted for this to a trench com- 
municating with the adjacent brook. This over- 
sight proved fatal to many of them, for Colonel 
Moore stationed some of his troops on the other 
side of the brook, so as to rake the trench when 
the Indians came out through it for water. 

There was but one passage by which the Indians 
could think of escaping. This the colonel guarded 
against by building a small redoubt in that direc- 
tion. He now broke ground for his trenches and 
breastwork, at some distance from the fort, the 
Tuskaroras being well supplied with fire-arms, and 
knowing well how to handle them. But Moore ad- 
vanced nearer and nearer, day and night. At last, 
on the 20th of March, 1713, the works of the ene- 
my were assaulted and taken. Eight hundred Tus- 
karoras surrendered. These the Ashley Indians 
claimed as the reward of their services, and most of 



13j9 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

them soon started off for home, taking the Tuska- 
roras with them, in the expectation of selling them 
for slaves. Twenty-two whites were killed during 
this siege, and thirty-six of the friendly Indians. 
The Tuskaroras had another fort ; but this was im- 
mediately deserted. The fate of their chief strong- 
hold taught them the futility of standing a siege. 
Peace was granted them on the following terms : 

1. The Tusks (as these Indians were common- 
ly called) were to deliver up twenty of their tribe, 
to be named by the English. These were the ring- 
leaders in the great massacre, and in the murder of 
Lawson. 

2. The Tusks were to restore all their prisoners, 
and all the horses, cattle, arms and goods, they 
had taken from the settlers. 

3. They promised to pursue the Cotechney and 
Mattamuskeet Indians as enemies. 

4. They were to deliver two hostages for each of 
their towns. 

King Blount, as the English called him, was the 
chief Tuskarora sachem. His town was on the 
east side of the Tar river, about twenty miles above 
Washington. He continued, from this time, faith- 
fully attached to the English, and, during the en- 
suing summer, brought in thirty scalps of the hos- 
tile Indians. But the greater part of the tribe, un- 
able to contend with the English, and unwilling to 
submit to their power, removed to the northward. 
There they joined the Senecas and other allied 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 137 

tribes on the frontiers of New York, known by the 
name of the Five Nations. The confederacy was 
afterwards called the Six Nations, the Tuskaroras 
making the sixth. The Cores and Mattamuskeets 
were soon subdued; and all the prisoners were 
made slaves. I think it very doubtful whether it 
was necessary to treat these miserable people quite 
so severely. They had given great provocation, it 
must be confessed ; but there is some reason for be- 
lieving that the whites excited the resentment of the 
Indians in the first instance. 

Here we will leave the history of North Carolina 
for a time. The colony, up to 1713, was far from 
prosperous, on the whole. There were now scarce- 
ly two thousand taxable inhabitants in the whole 
'province, though, fifty years before, there had been 
nearly the same number. Many were frightened 
off during the rebellion of Cary, and the Indian 
war. Such numbers fled to Virginia, in particular, 
that the governor of that province, by a proclama- 
tion, ordered all fugitives from Carolina to be 
seized and sent back. 

And yet the climate of the latter province was 
inviting, the soil rich, and the means of living easy. 
The farmer there was not obliged to make the 
least provision for his cattle in the winter. They 
found a suflicient supply of food in the woods ; and 
flocks of wild cattle and smaller game furnished the 
farmer himself, and his family, during the same season. 
The great cause of the slow growth of this province 



17 



138 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

was the bad, or, at the best, the insignificant char- 
acter of most of their first governors. 

The fact is, that the proprietors in England com- 
missioned men to fill this office whom they did not 
know personally. It appears upon record, for ex- 
ample, that in 1701, John Porter prosecuted Chris- 
topher Butler, for calling him a " cheating rogue." 
Butler admitted these words, as charged in the in- 
dictment drawn up against him, and justified himT 
self on account of the truth of them. The ques- 
tion was tried ; Butler was acquitted by the jury, 
and Porter was ordered to pay costs. A few years 
after, this same " cheating rogue " was made a 
member of the colonial council. He was also en- 
gaged, as might have been expected from his char- 
acter, in the rebellion of Gary. 



CHAPTER XV. 

The History of South Carolina continued. Great Excite- 
ment of political Parties. Quarrel between Gihbes and 
Broughton. Administration of Governor Johnson, 
An Account of the Revolution of 1719. Various Anec- 
dotes connected with it. 

I HAVE already told you how the people of South 
Carolina seized upon their worthy goveraor, Seth 
Sothel, and sent him to England for his trial. In 
the administration of one of his successors, Sir 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 139 

Nathaniel Johnson, between 1702 and 1709, new 
and violent political parties arose ; and upon the 
death of Governor Tynte, in 1710, a civil war was 
on the point of breaking out. It seems that a Mr. 
Gibbes was chosen to succeed Tynte ; but he receiv- 
ed only one vote more than Mr. Broughton ; and 
this one vote, as Broughton said, was obtained by 
bribery. He insisted, therefore, on his own claim 
to act as governor. But Gibbes insisted on his with 
the same perseverance, and the greater part of the 
people took sides with him. Broughton, however, 
collected a number of armed men at his plantation, 
for the defence of his own supposed rights, and 
marched to Charleston. Gibbes, who resided in that 
town, soon got intelligence of his approach. He 
immediately caused a general alarm to be fired, and 
the militia to be called together. Broughton, by 
this time, had approached the walls and gates of 
Charleston. 

Gibbes now ordered the draw-bridge, standing 
near the intersection of Broad and Meeting streets, 
to be hauled up. After a short parley with Brough- 
ton's party, who had now come up, the latter de- 
manded admittance. Gibbes called out to them 
from within the walls, and asked why they came 
armed in such numbers, and whether they would 
acknowledge himself their rightful governor. " We 
have understood," answered they, " that there is an 
alarm about something or other in the town, and 
have come to see what is the matter." As for 



140 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

Gibbes, they said they would not own him for their 
governor. 

Gibbes now denied them entrance. Before this, 
many of them began to gallop round the walls, 
towards " Craven's bastion," so called, to get en- 
trance there ; being prevented, however, they soon 
returned to the draw-bridge. But, by this time, 
some of the people of the town, and quite a number 
of sailors, appeared to be mustering together from 
vessels then in the harbor, in favor of the Broughton 
party. The latter undertook, therefore, to force 
down the draw-bridge, and effect a passage. Gibbes' 
party opposed, but were not allowed to fire upon 
them. 

Several blows and wounds, however, were given 
and received on each side. The sailors, who were 
within, and Broughton's own party without, togeth- 
er, finally prevailed so far as to lower down the 
bridge. They entered over it, and proceeded to 
the watch-house in Broad street. There the two 
town companies of militia were posted, under arms, 
and with colors fiying. Broughton's party approaqh- 
ed them, and halted. One of them then drew a paper 
from his pocket. It was probably some proclama- 
tion of Broughton's. The man undertook to read 
it ; but the militia made such a tremendous uproar 
with their drums, and all other means in their pow- 
er, that the poor fellow stretched his voice to its ut- 
most compass in vain. Not a syllable of the p^^oc- 
lamation could be heard. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 141 

Broughton's party now marched off towurds 
" Granville's bastion," being escorted by the sailors 
on foot, who were ready for any mischief As the 
party passed the front of the militia, whose guns 
were levelled, loaded and cocked, some of Brough- 
ton's sailors catched at the colors, and tore them 
from the staff. On this provocation, a few of the 
militia, without any orders, fired their pieces ; but 
nobody was hurt. One Captain Brewton resolutely 
drew his swprd, at this moment, stepped up to the 
sailor who had committed the outrage, and demanded 
the torn ensign. Captain Evans, one of Broughton's 
best men, alighted, and prudently obliged the sailor 
to return it. 

Broughton's party continued their march about 
town for some time. They then proclaimed 
Broughton governor. After hurraing as loudly as 
they were able, and making various other noises, 
they approached the gate of the town fort, and made 
a'show of forcing it. Here, however, they observed 
Captain Pawley with his pistol cocked, and many 
other gentlemen with their guns presented, who for- 
bade them, at their peril, to attempt the gate. 

This resistance seemed to have a salutary effect 
in cooling down these hot-headed people. They 
soon withdrew to a tavern on the bay, where their 
proclamation was read a second time. After much 
altercation and several messages and answers be- 
tween the parties, the dispute was referred to the 
decision of the lords proprietors ; the latter decid- 



143 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

ed in favor of neither Gibbes nor Broughton, though 
the former acted as governor meanwhile. Charles 
Craven was soon appointed to take the place of Gibbes ; 
and thus ended all this mighty noise and smoke. 
Such, generally, is the result of hot-headed quarrels. 

In 1719, South Carolina ceased to be governed 
by the proprietors, and became a royal province, 
subject, like JMassachusetts and most of the other col- 
onies, only to the king, through the governor, by him 
appointed. Carolina was divided into Northern and 
Southern, about the same time. This revolution 
was effected by the people, taking their own cause 
into their own hands. They had long been dis- 
satisfied with their form of government, but their 
dislike broke out particularly against Governor 
Johnson and his council. 

Towards the close of the year just named, John- 
son received intelligence that a general resolution 
prevailed in the province for a change of govern^ 
ment. This perplexed and harassed him very much ; 
but his council advjsed him to take no notice of it 
They seemed to imagine it would soon blow over, 
or might be easily suppressed. But the event 
proved otherwise. The people were resolved to be 
no longer oppressed ; and their representatives, the 
provincial assembly, were warm with the same spirit. 

Having assured themselves of the support of the 
people, the assembly met at the usual season. But, 
fearing that the governor would at once dissolve 
their meeting, they passed resolutions immediately, 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 143 

that the proprietors had forfeited their rights of gov- 
ernment. The governor and council now sent 
word, that they were ready to meet the assembly as 
usual. The latter, accordingly, came to the " upper 
.house " in a body ; and Arthur Middleton addressed" 
the governor without ceremony, in a very plain 
speech, not to be mistaken. " I am ordered by the 
assembly," said he in conclusion, " to inform you 
that, though they own your honor as governor, be- 
cause you have been appointed by the king, they 
disown the council as a council, and v/ill not act 
with them on any account." 

The governor and council were struck dumb 
with astonishment. The worst of it was, that, an in- 
vasion of the Spaniards from Florida being then 
expected, money must needs be raised for arming 
against them. This could be done only by a vote 
of the assembly. They could not, therefore, be dis- 
solved ; nor did the governor dare to use force. 
After some consultation with his council, he sent a 
message to the assembly, desiring a conference with 
them. They replied, that " they could hear nothing 
and receive nothing from his honor, so long as he 
acted with the people whom he was pleased to call 
his council." 

Finding that nothing could be done with the as- 
sembly, he issued a proclamation for dissolving their 
meeting. They ordered the proclamation to be torn 
from the marshal's hand, when he came among 
them. They then met upon their own authority, 



144 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

and chose James Moore for their governor, and 
also appointed a day for proclaiming him in the name 
of the king. This was the. very day which Johnson 
had previously appointed for a general review of 
the militia. The latter now sent to Parris, com- 
mander of the militia, to postpone the review to 
another day. 

Parris was a stanch friend to the cause of the 
people ; but, to keep matters quiet, he sent Johnson 
an answer, which satisfied him and hushed all sus- 
picion. Od the appointed day, however, as John- 
son was riding through the town, he found, much to 
his surprise, the militia drawn up in the market- 
square (now the site of the national bank), colors 
flying on the forts, and from every mast in the har- 
bor, and great preparations every where making 
for the appointed proclamation of Moore. 

The governor was so exasperated as nearly to 
lose the command of his temper. He reasoned 
with some of the populace, and threatened to chas- 
tise others. As to Parris, he asked him " how he 
dared to appear in arms, contrary to his orders," and 
commanded him, in the king's name, instantly to 
disperse the militia. But Parris understood his 
duty differently, and coolly replied, "that he was 
obeying the orders of the convention." The gov- 
ernor now stepped towards him in great rage. 
Parris commanded the militia to present their 
muskets at him, and ordered him " to stand off at 
his peril." 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 145 

The governor had expected, during this struggle, 
that his personal friends, and especially his council, 
and other subordinate officers, would support him; 
but not a man of them shovved his head. He was 
compelled to retreat, therefore, in confusion. The 
members of the assembly soon after marched, in 
solemn procession, to the fort, escorted by the whole 
militia of the colony, with colors flying, drums 
beating, and all possible demonstrations of joy. 
Moore was proclaimed governor, in the name of 
the king, and amidst the loud and long acclama- 
tions of the populace. The assembly now proceed- 
ed to choose a council and other officers, assess 
taxes, and vote money for the defence o{ the prov- 
ince. The king afterwards sanctioned their doings, 
and declared the rights of the proprietors to be for- 
feited. Such was the spirited and important revo- 
lution of 1719. 

South Carolina, at this time, might be said to be 
in its infancy. St. Stephen's was the frontier of the 
province ; and there, and at some other places along 
the coast, about the same distance from Charles- 
ton, were a few forts and small settlements. The 
whites rarely ventured fifty miles into the back coun- 
try, for fear of the savages. 

Even Charleston was not safe from them. A 
large part of it was fortified, both on the land and 
water side. All that lay north and south of Broad 
street, and west of Meeting street, was either a for- 
est, or laid out in farms, gardens, orange-groves, 
13 G 



146 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

or orchards, with here and there a straggling house. 
Furs, lumber, and a little rice,^ were the only exports 
of the province. The latter article, since become so 
important a staple, was introduced by mere acci- 
dent. A ship from Madagascar, bound for Lon- 
don, happening to touch at the bar below Charles- 
ton, the governor paid the captain a visit^ and the 
latter presented him with a few quarts of seed-rice 
as a curiosity. This was planted, and thus the 
cultivation of rice was begun in the colony. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Indian War of 171.5, in South Carolina. The Yamassees 
and other Indians incited against the English by the 
Spaniards. Anecdotes of them. Carelessness on the 
Part of the Whites. Particidai's of the Massacre, 
and the War which followed. The Indians are at last 
conquered. The victorious English troops march into 
Charleston in Triumph. 

I HOPE my young friends are not yet tired of In- 
dian wars ; for I have to give them some account 
of several others. They make up but too large a 
part of the early history of all this country. The 
Tuskaroras were subdued, you will recollect, in 
1713, six years before the revolution I have just 
described. The Tuskarora war was in North 
Carolina; and that province was never afterwards 
tioubled with a war so terrible. But their breth- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 147 

ren of South Carolina were less fortunate. They 
were visited, in 1715, with an Indian war, which 
threatened the destruction of the whole colony. 

Every tribe in the southern province was con- 
cerned in it, but the ringleaders, as I may call 
them, in the conspiracy, were the powerful tribe of 
Yaraassees. These savages possessed a large terri- 
tory on the north-east side of Savannah river, which 
is called " Indian land " to this day. You may re- 
member that I mentioned twenty of them as having 
been active in the service of the North Carolinians 
against the Tusks. Indeed, the Yamassees had al- 
ways been considered allies and friends. They ad- 
mitted the English traders into their villages more 
freely than any other tribe. 

But, for twelve months before the war broke out, 
these traders observed that the chief Yamassee war- 
riors went frequently to the Spanish settlements in 
Florida, and returned home loaded with presents. 
John Eraser, in particular, an honest Scotch trader 
among them, had often heard them tell of the kind 
treatment they received at St. Augustine. One 
had received a hat, another a jacket, and a third 
a coat, all trimmed with silver lace. Some got 
hatchets and knives, too ; and almost all of them 
guns and ammunition. Thus, it seems, were the 
Spaniards taking measures to cajole them, and stir 
them up against the English. One warrior told 
Eraser, that he had dined with the Spanish govern- 
or at St. Augustine, and that he, and not the gov- 



148 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA; 

ernor of Carolina, was now master and king of the 
Yamassees. 

About nine days before hostilities commenced, 
Sanute, an Indian warrior attached to Eraser's 
family, came to his house, and told his wife, that 
" the English were all wicked heretics, and would 
go to hell, and that the Yamassees would also fol- 
low them, if they suffered the English to live in 
their country ; that now the governor of St. Augus- 
tine was their king; that there would be a terrible 
war with the English ; that they only waited for the 
bloody stick to be returned from the Creeks before 
they commenced it." He told the family, moreover, 
that the Yamassees, the Creeks, the Cherokees, and 
many other nations, were all expected to engage in 
the war, assisted by the Spaniards. He finally ad- 
vised them to flee instantly to Charleston, while there 
was yet time to escape from the impending storm. 

Eraser was amazed at this news, and asked San- 
ute how he supposed the Spaniards could go to 
war with the Carolinians while at peace with Great 
Britain, the mother country. Sanute only answered 
by repeating that there would soon be a war, at all 
events ; and the trader must fly, as he loved his life, 
to Charleston. Eraser scarcely knew whether to 
believe himself imposed upon by the Indian, or not ; 
but finally made up his mind to take his advice. 
He set out immediately for Charleston, taking his 
family and his most valuable eflfects with him. 

At the very time when all this mischief was 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 149 

brewing, Captain Nairn, the provincial agent for 
Indian affairs, and many traders, resided at Pota- 
ligo, in the midst of their savage enemies. The 
case of the scattered settlers all along the frontiers 
was equally unguarded and exposed. On the very 
day before the massacre, Nairn observed an un- 
commonly deep gloom on the faces of the savages of 
the village in which he resided. This made him 
so uneasy, that he went to some of their chief men 
to inquire the occasion of it. He promised, also, if 
any injury had been done them by the English, to 
give them satisfaction, or to see that it should be 
given. 

But the chief coolly replied, that they had no 
complaints to make against any one. " They in- 
tended to go a hunting the next morning," they 
added, " and to have a jolly time of it." Captain 
Nairn was satisfied with tliis crafty answer ; and he 
and the other traders passed the night in perfect 
tranquillity. But dearly did the poor unfortunate 
men pay for that night's rest. About day-break of 
the next morning, April 15th, 1715, the Yamassees 
raised the war-whoop. The leaders were already 
under arms, and proclaiming aloud their designs of 
vengeance. Their young men now flew to arms, 
sounded the war-cry, and rushed in upon Potaligo and 
the neighboring settlements in large bodies. In a 
few hours, they had massacred, in cold blood, above 
ninety of the surprised and defenceless whites. 

Mr. Bunem, a captain of militia, at Potaligo, by 



150 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

swimming one mile and running ten, after receiving 
two wounds, escaped to Port Royal, and alarmed 
the town. The inhabitants hurried on board of a 
vessel in the harbor, and set sail immediately for 
Charleston. A few straggling families only fell 
into the hands of the Yamassees, who either mur- 
dered them on the spot, or carried them away 
captive. 

The whole province of South Carolina was now 
overrun by the savages. The English had enter- 
tained hopes of the friendship of the Congarees, the 
Catabaws, and Cherokees ; but they soon found 
that all these tribes had also joined in the conspiracy. 
They were now ravaging the northern parts of the 
province, to the number of near one thousand, while 
the Yamassees, and the Creeks, and other allied 
tribes had mustered more than six thousand bowmen 
in the southern districts. Every tribe, in fact, from 
Florida to Cape Fear river, had joined in the war. 
The provincials could bring no force to resist theni. 
Each planter could only consult his own safety, and 
that of his family, by flying as fast as possible to 
Charleston. 

Even in this large and fortified town, the inhab- 
itants were in no small alarm. Fearful accounts 
had been brought in of the power of the enemy. 
The men were obliged, therefore, to keep guard 
every night. There were not more than twelve 
hundred on the town muster-roll fit to bear arms. 
The governor proclaimed martial law, and forbade 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 151 

all vessels from leaving the harbor. He then 
obtained authority from the assembly to impress 
i«en, arms and stores, and to arm trusty negroes. 
Ageiits were despatched to Virginia and to England 
for assistance, and bills stamped for the payment 
of the troops, within a few days. Governor Craven 
mai-hed out into the back country, at the head of 
the m?4tia, against the largest body of savages. 

Meanvhile, the more northern Indians had ad- 
vanced as far as the plantation of John Kearne, 
about fifty mf^s from Charleston. A party of these 
entered Kearne?s house, apparently in a peaceable 
manner ; but sooh afterwards murdered every per- 
son in it. Thomas Barker, a militia- captain, col- 
lected ninety horsem^.n, and advanced against the 
enemy. But he was led, uni)rtunately, by the 
treachery of an Indian guide, irio an ambuscade, 
where a large party of savages lay con<3ealed on the 
ground. He advanced into the midst of them with- 
out suspecting his danger. They then suddenly 
sprang up from the bushes all around him, raised 
the war-whoop, and fired upon his men. The 
captain and several more of the whites fell at the 
first onset, and the remainder retreated in dis- 
order. 

Soon after this, a party of four hundred Indians 
came down as far as Goose creek. Every white 
family there fled to Charleston, excepting one small 
settlement, where seventy white men, with the as- 
sistance of forty negroes, hastily erected a breast- 



152 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA 




Capt. Barker falls into an ambuscade of Indians. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 153 

work. Here they were determined to remain, and 
defend themselves to the last drop of blood. But 
when the savages came upon them with their terri- 
ble uproar, and in irresistible numbers, their hearts 
failed them. They soon surrendered, admitted the 
enemy within their works, and were barbarously 
murdered on the spot, to a man. The Indians then 
advanced towards Charleston, but, meeting with 
Captain Chicken, who, spite of his name, was a 
brave fellow, and who came out upon them with the 
Goose creek militia, they retreated in great haste. 

By this time, the Yamassees had spread destruction 
through the parish of St. Bartholomew. Thence ad- 
vancing as far as Stono, they burned the church at 
that place, together with every house on the planta- 
tions on their way. John Cochrane, his wife and 
four children, Mr. Bray and his family, and six 
other persons, having formerly conciliated some 
friends among these Indians, were spared for a few 
days ; but, attempting to make their escape, they 
were retaken and massacred. Such of the settlers 
as had no friends among the Indians were tortured 
as soon as taken, in a manner too horrible for de- 
scription. The Indians, though they stopped for 
nothing else, would always make quite a halt in 
their rapid march to contrive and execute these in- 
fernal tortures. 

Meanwhile, Governor Craven was advancing 
against the enemy from Charleston, with slow and 
cautious steps. He felt that the fate of the whole 

G* 



154 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

colony depended on his success or failure ; and he 
understood very well, too, all the wiles and strata- 
gems of Indian warfare. As he marched on 
through the back country, the straggling parties 
of the enemy fled before him, till he reached a place 
called Salt-catchers. There the savages had col- 
lected in great force, and erected and fortified their 
grand encampment. Craven's men were determin- 
ed to conquer or perish. The enemy were panting 
for more slaughter, and a sharp and bloody battle 
ensued. 

Both parties availed themselves of the woods as a 
defence. Bullets and arrows were discharged from 
trees and bushes, rocks and stumps, on all sides, 
with the same terrible execution. The Indians 
made the forest reecho with their horrid war-whoops. 
The English would then pour in upon them a new 
volley. The savages retreated a short distance, 
rallied again and again, and rushed on with renewed 
fury to the charge. But they were at length totally 
routed. The governor pursued them closely. He 
drove them over their settlement at " Indian Land," as 
far as Savannah river ; and, in the course of a week 
or two, having cleared the province of the Yamassees 
entirely, he returned triumphant to Charleston. 

In this war, four hundred Carolinians were mas- 
sacred. The locjs of the Indians is unknown, but 
it must have been considerable. Notwithstanding 
their signal defeat, however, they put a good face 
upon it, and marched off to the Spanish territories in 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 155 

Florida : there they were received with bells ring- 
ing and guns firing, as if they had come victorious 
from a proud field of battle. This circumstance, 
and the encouragement afterwards given them to 
settle in Florida, confirmed the suspicion of the 
English, that the Spaniards had occasioned the 
war. The Carolinians, on the other hand, were 
rejoicing, at the same time, with better reason. 
The governor entered Charleston in triumph, and, 
together with his brave troops, received such thanks 
and gratulations, on all hands, as their prudence and 
courage had well merited. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Some Account of the Spaniards in Florida. Their Hostil- 
ity to the English Colonies. Occasions of it. Vaiious 
hostile Expeditions attempted on each Side. Account of 
the French and Spanish Expedition against Charleston 
in 1706. They are repulsed loith Disgrace. 

As your curiosity may be a little excited, by this 
time, to know something of these hostile and trou- 
blesome Spaniards in Florida, I will give you a 
sketch of their history. You must know that Spain 
had long laid claim to the whole tract of land which 
the Carolinians now occupied. They asserted that 
Spanish subjects had first discovered it. At all events, 
whether they had the right to it or not, the Spaniards 



156 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

were aetermined to harass them (the Carolinians), 
in the hope of driving them off. Wars were fre- 
quent and long, in those days, between Spain and 
England, the two mother countries of the colonies. 

As early as 1686, the Spaniards- had driven off a 
Scotch colony from Port Royal island. In 1702, 
Governor Moore, of South Carolina, returned the 
compliment, by an expedition against St. Augustine, 
the chief town in Florida. But the appearance of 
two Spanish ships of war off that harbor, obliged 
him to raise the siege of the town, abandon his own 
small vessels, and retreat to Carolina hastily over 
land, though with the loss of only two men. 

Four years after this, the Spaniards and the 
West Indian French (both nations being then at 
war with Great Britain) planned a combined attack 
on Charleston. Carolina was, at this time, the 
southern frontier of the British empire in America, 
Georgia being still unsettled. But Governor John- 
son of Carolina was an old soldier and a brave 
man ; and he no sooner heard of the designs of the 
enemy, than he set every man at Charleston* to 
work upon the fortifications, appointed gunners to 
each bastion, and trained the townsmen, daily, to 
the use of arms. A small fort, called fort Johnson, 
was erected on James island, and several cannon 
mounted in it. Entrenchments were raised at 
White Point, and other places. A guard was sta- 
tioned on Sullivan's island, with orders to kindle 
as many fires, on the side nearest the town, at first 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES 157 

sight of the fleet of the enemy, as they should see 
ships. 

Meanwhile, Monsieur Le Feboure had left Ha- 
vana, with a French frigate and four armed sloops, 
well supplied by the Spanish government of Cuba. 
He touched at St. Augustine, took on board a large 
body of Spaniards, and then sailed for Charleston. 
The appearance of five fires on Sullivan's island, 
soon announced to the people of the town the arrival 
of the five ships. The inhabitants were immedi- 
ately alarmed and roused. Expresses were sent to 
all the militia captains in the country, ordering 
them to fire alarm-guns, raise their companies, and 
press forward to Charleston with all possible de- 
spatch. 

In the evening, the enemy approached the bar of 
the harbor ; but, as the passage was difficult, they 
hovered on the coast during the night, within sight 
of land. They anchored towards morning, and 
employed their boats, all day, in sounding the 
south bar. This delay enabled the country militia 
to reach Charleston. At the head of these forces. 
Governor Johnson now proclaimed martial law, and 
sent expresses to invite the aid of the friendly Indian 
tribes. As a contagious distemper raged in town 
at this time, he held his head quarters at half a mile's 
distance. In the course of the evening and the 
next morning, a troop of horse under Captain 
Logan, and nine companies of foot, reached 
town. 

14 



158 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

On the day following, the five ships of the enemy 
crossed the bar, and stood directly for the town, 
with a fair wind and a strong tide. Having ad- 
vanced far enough to discover the fortifications, 
they anchored off Sullivan's island. The governor 
now marched his militia into town ; and while the 
enemy lay at anchor, he called a council of war. 
Here, after some consultation, it was determined to 
put some great guns on board of such vessels as 
happened to be in the harbor, and to employ the 
sailors to man the vessels and defend the town in 
their own way. William Rhctt, a stanch soldier, 
was commissioned to command this little squadron, 
thus hastily equipped. He hoisted his flag on board 
of an English royal galley. 

The enemy now sent up a flag of truce to the 
governor, to summon him to surrender. George 
Evans, who commanded Granville bastion, re- 
ceived the French messenger on his landing from 
the boat, and conducted him blindfolded into the 
fort. There the governor was ready to receive 
him. In the mean time, he had drawn up his 
troops in such a manner as to make them appear to 
great advantage, their ranks being drawn out in 
fine array, and the soldiers well supplied with glit- 
tering arms. The French messenger was now per- 
mitted to uncover his eyes. One fort, full of troops, 
being shown him, he was blinded again, and conduct- 
ed to another. Here the same troops were drawn up 
in a different order. They had reached the second 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 159 

fort by a shorter route than that by which the blinded 
messenger had been led ; and they were now point- 
ed out to him as a body of troops which he had not 
before seen. 

Having shown off his strength to the best advan- 
tage, by thus making it appear double what it really 
was, the governor demanded of the Frenchman 
the purport of his message. " I am sent," answered 
he, " from Monsieur Le Feboure, admiral of the 
French fleet. He demands a surrender of your 
town and province, and your own persons as pris- 
oners of war, in the name of the kings of France 
and Spain. His orders allow him to give you but 
one hour for an answer." 

" Very well," replied Johnson; " there is no occa- 
sion for one minute to answer the message. I 
hold this town and this province for queen Anne 
of England. I can defend them too; and 
my men will sooner die than surrender themselves 
prisoners of war. I will defend this place, sir, to 
the last drop of my blood. Have the politeness to 
inform Monsieur Le Feboure of this resolution, and 
tender him my compliments." 

The day following, a party of the enemy v/ent 
ashore on James island, and burnt some houses. 
Another body of one hundred and sixty men landed 
on the opposite side of the river, burnt two vessels 
in Derby's creek, and set fire to a store-house. 
Governor Johnson ordered Captain Drake, with his 
own company and a few Indians, to James island, 



160 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

to oppose the enemy on that side. Drake imme- 
diately proceeded against them; but before he 
could bring up his men, the Indians, who ran be- 
fore him through the woods, with more than their 
usual impetuosity, had driven the invaders to their 
boats. 

At the same time, advice was brought to town, 
that a Spanish party, who had landed on Ward's 
neck, had killed a number of hogs and cattle, and 
were now feasting on the plunder. Captain Cant- 
ney, with one hundred chosen men, was ordered to 
cross the river quietly in the night, and watch their 
motions. Cantney came up with them before day- 
break, and, finding them in a state of security, sur- 
rounded them, and attacked them briskly. They 
were thrown into confusion, and fled. Some were 
killed, others drowned in attempting to escape, and 
the remainder surrendered prisoners of war. 

Animated by their success on land, the Carolini- 
ans resolved to try their fortunes by sea. Accord- 
ingly, Rhett set sail with his fleet of six small ves- 
sels. He proceeded down the river towards the 
place where the enemy lay anchored ; but the 
French, perceiving their approach, weighed anchor, 
and sailed over the bar. For some days, nothing 
was heard of them. The governor ordered Captain 
Watson of the '' Sea-flower " to sea, to find out 
whether the coast was clear. Watson returned 
without having seen the enemy ; but, observ- 
ing some men on shore, whom they had left be- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 161 

hind, he took them on board, and brought them to 
town. 

These men assured the governor that the French 
had gone; perhaps they had been left behind for 
the purpose of telling this story. Orders were now 
given for the cessation of martial law in Charleston, 
and the inhabitants began to rejoice at their happy 
deliverance. But news came before night, that a 
large ship was seen in Lewee bay, and that a num- 
ber of armed men had landed from her. The 
governor now learned, by examining the prisoners 
just mentioned, that the French had expected a 
ship of war, with Monsieur Arbuset, their general, 
and two hundred men, as a reinforcement. 

He immediately ordered Captain Fenwicke to 
pass the river, and march against them by land. 
Rhett sailed round by sea, meanwhile, for the pur- 
pose of meeting Fenwicke at Lewee bay, taking 
with him a Dutch privateer and an armed Bermuda 
sloop. Fenwicke came up with the enemy on the 
land side, and charged them with great spirit. 
Though they were well posted, they gave way after 
a few volleys, and fled for their ship. Rhett soon 
after made his appearance, coming in upon them 
from the sea, with all sails set, and his whole force 
on deck, ready for action. The French ship now 
struck her flag without firing a shot; and Rhett 
returned to Charleston in triumph, with his prize 
and ninety prisoners. 

Among the latter was Monsieur Arbuset himself, 
14* 



IGiJ EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

and several other officers of rank, who, together, 
gave ten thousand pieces of eight* for their ransom. 
Of eight hundred of the enemy who belonged to the 
expedition, nearly three hundred were killed and 
captured. The loss of the Carolinians, on the other 
side, is not worth mentioning. Thus honorably for 
them ended the invasion of Feboure. The govern- 
or publicly thanked his troops for their good con- 
duct ; while his own pleased the assembly so well, 
that they voted him a large tract of land, with the 
most flattering compliments. I should observe, that 
this was not the same Governor Johnson under 
whose rule the revolution of 1719 took place. He 
was a man of very different character. 

Though the Spaniards molested the Southern 
English colonies long after this war, and especially 
by employing the Yamassees and other Indians to fight 
against them, they were much less troublesome than 
they probably would have been, but for this check. 

North and South Carolina were still more reliev- 
ed in consequence of the settlement of Georgia. 
This latter province then became, instead of Caro- 
lina, the southern frontier of British America, and 
lay more exposed, of course, to the incursions of the 
Spaniards and Indians of Florida. As Georgia 
becomes, therefore, an important province at this 
time, I shall proceed to give you some sketches of 
its history. 

* A piece of eight is an ancient Spanish coin, equal to about one 
dollar. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 163 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Origin of the Settlement of Georgia. The first Colony 
which settled in it. They land at the Place noiv colled Sa- 
vannah. Account of their Proceedings for some Months. 
Anecdotes of the Indians. An Indian Treaty is con- 
cluded. 

Georgia — as well as what are now Mississippi and 
Alabama, both which have been cut off from it into 
separate states — was included in the patent granted 
to the proprietors of Carolina. It was not till June 
9, 1732, indeed, that a separate charter was granted 
by King George II. to a company of twenty-one 
English gentlemen, entitled " Trustees for establish- 
ing the Colony of Georgia in America." The Car- 
olinians were universally interested in the design 
of these trustees ; for nothing was so desirable to 
them as the settlement of a colony between them- 
selves and their troublesome neighbors in Florida. 

The Spaniards had recently taken particular 
pains to entice the negro slaves of Carolina to desert 
their masters, and take refuge in Florida. To pre- 
vent this, a fort had been built and garrisoned, by 
the Carolinians, on the Altamaha river, in what is 
now Georgia. This gave offence to the Spanish 
governor, who still claimed that territory. He com- 
plained of it to the king of Spain. The Spanish 
ambassador at London was instructed to demand 
the removal of the garrison. The result was, that 

G * 



164 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

two Spanish gentlemen of St. Augustine came to 
Charleston, by appointment, to confer upon this 
subject with other gentlemen appointed, on the other 
side, by King George, to meet them. But nothing 
was effected ; the two Spaniards went back to Florida, 
enraged rather than conciliated ; and, soon after, 
the Altamaha fort was burnt down, and the fron- 
tiers of Carolina again left defenceless. 

It was in this state of things that the charter just 
mentioned was given to the twenty-one trustees. 
The common seal agreed upon by this company of 
benevolent and active men, may give you an idea of 
their designs. On one side were two figures lean- 
ing upon urns, representing the rivers Altamaha 
and Savannah, the two boundaries of the province. 
Between these figures the genius of the colony was 
seated, with a cap of liberty on her head, a spear in 
one hand, and a cornucopia in the other. On the 
other side was a representation of silk- worms, some 
beginning and others having finished their webs, 
with the motto, in Latin, "Not for themselves, but 
for others." This signified, what was strictly true, 
that the trustees had no merely personal motives in 
founding the colony. The silk-worms indicated the 
manufacture to which they .intended the colonists 
should chiefly turn their attention. 

Two principal regulations of the trustees are 
worthy of notice. One was, that no negro slaves 
should belong to the new colony ; and the other, 
that no ardent spirits should be introduced into it. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 165 

One reason for the former rule was, that the making 
of silk could be done as well by white women and 
children as by slaves ; and it was not then intended 
to cultivate rice, as in Carolina. Another reason 
was, that fears were entertained of the trouble 
the Spaniards of Florida might give them, in 
case they kept slaves. A negro would cost 
over one hundred dollars, too; and the new 
colonists were not expected to be rich. Besides, 
the trustees believed slavery to be unlawful, as it 
was unnecessary. 

The first colony sent over by the trustees, con- 
sisted of one hundred and fourteen men, women 
and children. Not much could be said for the rep- 
utation or wealth of these people, though most of 
them were honest. But they were generally such 
people as could not easily get a living in England. 
Some who were in debt had leave from their creditors 
to come out to Georgia. Others had been recom- 
mended to the trustees by church-wardens and 
parish overseers, as being likely enough, if they re- 
mained in England, to become burdensome to their 
parishes. 

James Edward Oglethorpe, one of the trustees, was 
among the emigrants. So also was Mr. Herbert, 
an Episcopal English clergyman, and an Italian, 
engaged by the trustees to instruct the colonists in 
the art of winding silk. They left England, Novem- 
ber 16, 1732, in the ship Anne, Captain Thomas, 
and arrived at Charleston, January 13th of the next 



166 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA. 

year. There Oglethorpe and his colony were very 
kindly treated, and furnished with all possible aid. 
Many of the Carolinians sent them provisions, and 
hogs, and cattle, to begin their stock. The assembly 
voted to furnish them one hundred and four head 
of breeding cattle, twenty-five hogs, and twenty bar- 
rels of rice. Some scout boats were also ordered, 
with a body of rangers, to protect the new adven- 
turers from the savages in Georgia, while they 
should be preparing houses, or exploring the 
Georgian coast. 

Oglethorpe now set sail again from Charleston, 
and landed, in a few days, near Yamacraw bluff. 
Here he tarried to examine the country ; and, being 
pleased with the high spot of ground just named, 
situated on a large navigable river, he fixed on it 
for his new settlement. He marked out a town on 
the hill, and, from the Indian name of the river 
which ran past it, called it Savannah. A few ex- 
tracts from a letter of Mr. Oglethorpe to the trus- 
tees, will give you some interesting particulars con- 
cerning the settlement. 

*' From the camp near Savannah, 

" the 10th of Februarys, 1733. 
"Gentlemen: 

" I HAVE fixed upon a healthy situation 
for my people, about ten miles from the sea. The 
river here forms a half-moon, along the south side 
of which the banks are about forty feet high. On 
the top is a flat, which they call a bluff. The 
plain highland extends five or six miles into the 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 



167 




First settlement of Georgia at Savannah, 



168 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

country, and along the river side about a mile. 
Ships that draw twelve feet water can ride within 
ten yards of the bank. On the river side, in the 
centre of this plain, I have laid out the town ; oppo- 
site to which is an island, of very rich pasturage, 
which I think should be kept for the trustees' 
cattle. 

*' The river is pretty wide, the water fresh, and, 
from the key of the town, one may see its whole 
course to the sea, with the island Tybee at its 
mouth. For six miles up into the country, the land- 
scape is very agreeable ; the stream being wide, and 
bordered* with high woods on both sides. I have 
marked out a town-common. Half the town is al- 
ready cleared of trees; and the first house was 
begun yesterday afternoon." 

In a second letter, Mr. Oglethorpe writes thus : — 
" Our people are in perfect health. Our soil is dry 
and sandy ; the water of the river fresh ; and we 
have springs coming out of the side of the hill. We 
are sheltered from the western and southern winds 
by vast woods of fine trees, many of which are one 
hundred, and few under seventy feet high. There 
is no moss on the trees, though in Carolina they are 
covered with it, and it hangs down two or three 
feet from them. The best proof of the healthiness 
of the place is, that an Indian nation once chose it 
for their own residence." His excellency, the new 
governor, knew but little, when he wrote this letter, 
of the swamps and unhealthy winds of Georgia. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 16^ 

A small fort was soon erected near the river as a 
pkce of refuge, and some guns were mounted on 
it. The people were employed in falling trees and 
building huts. They were then formed into a com- 
pany of militia, and furnished with arms. The In- 
dians came now and then to see the new settlers, 
and on those occasions the militia were generally 
exercised. They marched about pretty well, to 
show off the strength of the colony ; and as they 
had been considerably disciplined and drilled by 
the " sergeants of the guards," so called, in London, 
just before leaving that city, they performed the 
musket-exercise as well as any old soldiers in the 
world. At least, so thought the staring and aston- 
ished Indians. 

Oglethorpe's next object was to treat with the 
natives for their land. The chief tribes, in the ter- 
ritory which he wanted, were the Uppei' and Lower 
Creeks. The former were very numerous and 
strong. The latter were reduced, by disease and 
war, to a small number. Both tribes together could 
muster over twenty thousand men, women and 
children. Beside these, it was a great object to 
collect as many of the other tribes as possible. To 
accomplish this, Oglethorpe employed a woman 
named Mary, half Indian and half white, who had 
married one Musgrove, a Carolinian trader. She 
could speak both English and Creek. 

She had great influence with the Indians ; and 
Oglethorpe took some pains to purchase her friend- 
15 H 



170 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

ship with presents. He then allowed her a salary 
of one hundred pounds yearly, as a reward for her 
services. By her aid, he summoned a general meet- 
ing of the sachems at Savannah. Accordingly, 
more than fifty of them soon assembled at that place. 
Oglethorpe represented to them the great power of 
the English, promised to treat them with kindness, 
and hoped they would freely resign a share of their 
lands to his people. He then distributed beads, 
knives, and other presents among them ; a treaty 
was concluded ; and Tomochichi, in the name of 
the Creeks, thus addressed Oglethorpe : — 

" Here is a little present. I give you a buffalo's 
skin, adorned on the inside with the head and fea- 
thers of an eagle. I desire you to accept it, be- 
cause the eagle is the bird of speed, and the buffa- 
lo is the beast of strength. Dhe English are swift 
as the one,' and strong as the other ; for they fly 
over vast seas to the uttermost parts of the earth ; 
and nothing can resist them. The feathers of the 
eagle are soft, too, and mean love. The buffalo's 
skin is warm, and signifies protection. So we 
hope the English will love and protect us.'' 

The treaty consisted of seven articles, regulating 
the sale and price of the Indian land, and the man- 
ner in which the two parties were to live together. 
The last article was as follows : — 

" We, the head men of the Coweta and Cuseta 
towns, in behalf of all the Lower Creeks, 6lc. do 
promise, with stout hearts and love to our English 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 171 

brothers, to give no encouragement to any white 
people but themselves to settle among us ; and that 
we will have no correspondence with the French 
or Spaniards. And, to show that we do firmly 
promise to keep this talk in our hearts, as long as 
the sun shall shine, or the waters run in the rivers, 
we have each of us set the marks of our families." 
A schedule of prices of goods was agreed upon at 
this same time, to prevent all quarrelling or cheat- 
ing for the future. I annex some of them here as 
curiosities : — 

One white blanket equal to five back-skins. 

One blue do. " three do. 

A gun " ten do. 

A gun-lock '' four do. 

A pistol '< five do. 

Two horns of powder, or ) u ^^q do. 
sixty bullets ) 

A knife, or three yards of > ^ one doe-skin, 
garteruig ) 

A hoe or an axe " two buck-skins. 

Brass kettle "■ one buck-skin per pound. 

One large hatchet " three doe-skins. 

A small one, or eighteen flints '' one buck-skin. 
Doe-skins were estimated at half the value of the bucks. 

Meanwhile, the Savannah people were palisading 
the new town, and building more houses. A public 
garden was laid out, east of the town, designed as a 
nursery to supply them with mulberry-trees (whose 
leaves are the food of the silk-worm), vines, oranges, 
and olives. A gardener was employed by the trus- 
tees to take special care of these things. A " crane " 



172 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

• 

was erected for landing goods on the bluff. A 
beacon, ninety feet high, was also built on Tybee 
island. Fort Argyle was erected on the Ogeechee 
river, to protect them from the Spaniards; and 
another at Skidway narrows. In October, 1733, 
the colony was reinforced by three hundred and 
forty-one new emigrants, most of them poor, perse- 
cuted Protestants from Saltzburg in Germany. 

Extravagant accounts of the new province were 
prevailing at this time in England. These were 
partly occasioned by a " Description of Georgia," 
published by some unknown person in London. 
The writer represented the country as a kind of Par- 
adise, the air always serene and pleasant, the winter 
regular and short, the summer cooled by refreshing 
breezes, the soil producing any thing and every thing 
with scarcely any culture at all. A hundred fold, he 
said, was the common increase of all kinds of grain, 
though the farming was so slight, that they had only 
to scratch the earth, and merely cover the seed. 

Some of the description in this old book is queer 
enough to deserve quoting. Here is a specimen : — 
*' All the best sort of cattle and fowls multiply in 
Georgia without number and without price. Vines 
are natives there. To destroy woods for clearing 
up pasture or ploughing ground, you have only to 
girdle each tree a little above the ground, with a 
few strokes of an axe. In a year or two, the water, 
getting into the wound, rots the timber, and a brisk 
gust of wind will fell many acres for you in one 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 173 

hour ; ot* which you may make one bright bonfire. 
The Indians bring, many a mile, the whole of a 
deer's flesh, which they sei\ to the colonists for six- 
pence ; a wild turkey of forty pounds weight, for 
two-pence." A part of these stories are founded 
on truth, without doubt, but how much, I cannot 
tell you. The last-mentioned prices of food, how- 
ever, do not seem to me incredible, especially if the 
savages were paid in trinkets, such as they liked 
best. You recollect, I dare say, how much corn 
the Virginian Indians would sell for a siring of blue 
beads. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Mr. Oglethorpe goes to England. Govcniment of Geor- 
gia during his Absence. His Return. Progress of 
new Settlements. A War hreaks out between England 
and Spain. Oglethorpe undeiiakes an Expedition 
against Florida. The Result of it. Anecdotes. 

Oglethorpe went to England early in 1734, 
and invited Tomochichi to accompany him. The 
old sachem was pleased with the invitation, and 
accepted it. He went to England, together with 
his queen and several of his Indian attendants. 
They were objects of great curiosity in that coun- 
try. The nobility entertained them handsomely 
at their tables ; and wherever they went, multitudes 
flocked around them, shaking hands with the rude 
15 * 



174 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

warriors of the forest, giving them little presents, 
and treating them with eve>ry mark of civility. 

Twenty pounds sterhng were allowed them by 
the king, each week, while they remained in Eng- 
land; and when they returned, it was supposed 
they carried presents with them to the amount of 
one thousand five hundred dollars. Every effort 
was made to engage their affections, and to fill them 
with just ideas of the power and riches of England. 
They were even introduced to the king at court, in 
the presence of a large number of the nobility. 
Tomochiclii, struck with the grandeur of every 
thing about him, addressed King George in these 
words : — 

" This day I see the majesty of your face, the 
greatness of your house, and the number of your 
people. I am come in my old days. Though I 
cannot expect any advantage to myself, I am come 
for the good of the children of all the nations of the 
Lower and Upper Creeks. These are feathers of 
the eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and which 
flyeth round our nation : these feathers are emblems 
of peace in our land, and have been carried from 
town to town. We have brought them over to leave 
with you, O great king, as a token of everlasting 
peace. O great king, whatever words you shall say 
to me, I will faithfully tell them to all the kings of 
the Creek nation." 

The king very graciously told Tomochichi, in 
return, that he was glad of the present opportunity 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 175 

of assuring them of his regard for the Indian na- 
tions, and extremely pleased with their assurances 
of peace. He accepted very gratefully, he said, the 
present they brought him, as an indication and 
pledge of friendship, and should always be disposed 
to do them and their nation all the good in his pow- 
er. After staying four months, delighted with the 
fine sights of London, and the wealth and kindness 
of the people, they were carried to Gravesend in 
one of the king's carriages, and there embarked for 
Georgia. 

The town of Augusta, in the latter province, was 
laid out in 1735. It consisted, at first, only of several 
warehouses, furnished with goods suitable for the In- 
dian trade ; and bouts were built large enough to carry 
about ten thousand pounds of fur, wiiich made four 
or five voyages a year up and down the river, be- 
tween Augusta and Savannah. The former became 
a general resort for the Indian traders in the spring. 
They purchased there, annually, about two thou- 
sand pack-horse loads of fur and skins, which were 
brought in and sold them by the Indians. Includ- 
ing townsmen, pack-horsemen and servants, it was 
calculated that six hundred whites were engaged in 
this trade. A path was opened through the woods, 
down to Savannah, passable on horseback. 

Another settlement was formed at Ebenezer, 
twenty-five miles above Savannah, on the river. 
This consisted chiefly of the hardy and industrious 
Saltzburghers. These people had a good clergy- 



176 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

man among them, one Mr. Bottzius. There were 
one hundred and thirty grown people in his congre- 
gation. This town was remarkably healthy at first, 
but some diseases were afterwards occasioned by 
the opening of rice-lands. Twenty families of 
Jews settled between this place and Savannah, in 
1734. Of such various materials was the population 
of the new province composed. 

Meanwhile, they were lamenting the absence of 
Oglethorpe in England. He had left the care of 
the colony chiefly with one Thomas Causton. This 
man was a bailiff and a store-keeper, and he proba- 
bly felt the importance of these two occupations 
as much as any man in the colony. He ruled the 
people with a high hand, and great complaints were 
soon made of him. He threatened the juries, they 
said, to oblige them to give such verdicts in court 
as suited him ; and compelled citizens, under the 
command of an orderly sergeant, to post themselves 
at the door of the court-house, with guns and bay- 
onets, and to salute him with presented fire-locks 
as he passed in and out. 

He openly threatened every body who opposed his 
will with the jail and whipping-post. It was whisper- 
ed about, also, that he embezzled the public money. 
After some months, Mr. Gordon arrived from Eng- 
land, to take command in the colony. But Caus- 
ton's cunning never left him. He refused Gordon 
either money or provisions from the public stores. 
Of course, the latter found it hard to support him- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 177 

self and his family, having no private business ; and 
in six weeks, he returned to England. Causton 
now held absolute sway again over the inferior ma- 
gistrates of the colony. 

One of them was dependent, as Gordon had been, 
on his salary ; and Causton had only to withhold 
that to make him say that black was white, and 
white black. Another, Mr. Dunn, was seventy 
years old, and crazy. He soon died, indeed ; but 
his successor was little better, for he could neither 
read nor write. A Captain Watson is said to have 
been one of Causton's victims. He brought a 
charge against the latter, for some private pique, of 
encouraging the Indians to make war. On this 
charge, Watson was tried ; and Causton himself 
appeared in the case as judge, advocate and witness. 

Nevertheless, the jury returned twice without 
finding the captain " guilty." Causton then ordered 
them into court, and most unblushingly directed 
them to find him guilty, and recommend him to 
the mercy of the court. He ordered Watson to 
prison, however, without pronouncing any sentence ; 
and he remained there three years. Immorality 
began to prevail under this government, as might 
be supposed, and no public work succeeded. The 
culture of silk was attempted without success. The 
soil of the garden and nursery in Savannah proved 
to be a miserable bed of sand ; almost or quite hot 
enough, in sunmier, to roast an egg. 

The colony did not increase so fast as it had 

H* 



178 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

done, though the trustees made new exertions to 
effect that object. To every grown male person 
who would go over and settle in the province, they 
offered a watch-coat, muskot and bayonet, hatchet, 
hammer, hand-saw, spade, hoe and gimlet ; an iron 
pot, pot-hooks and frying pan ; and a public grind- 
stone to each settlement. To support him the first 
year, each man was to have three hundred pounds 
of beef and pork, one hundred and fourteen pounds 
of rice, as many of pease, as many of flour, forty-four 
gallons of strong beer, and sixteen of molasses for 
brewing beer, eighteen pounds of cheese, and nine 
of butter, with spice, sugar, vinegar, salt, lamp-oil 
and soap. 

The females, above twelve years of age, were to 
have the same allowances, excepting the beer ; half 
the allowance for children under twelve and over 
seven; and a third for those over two and under 
seven. Besides this, their passage over from Eng- 
land was paid, and sea-stores allowed them. Those 
who settled in the towns had a lot of land, sixty feet 
by ninety, given them for a building-spot. Those 
in the back country had fifty acres, at a yearly rent 
of two shillings and six-pence. None, however, had 
the advantage of this charity fund, but such as were 
honest and poor, or burdened with large families. 

Among the emigrants who availed themselves of 
these liberal offers, were one hundred and seventy 
Germans, who settled at Ebenezer ; and one hun- 
dred and thirty Scotch Highlanders from Inverness. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 179 

The latter settled and built a town on the Altamaha, 
which they called New Inverness. It is now called 
Darien. 

A long expected war between England and 
Spain was at last proclaimed on the 23d of October, 
1^739. Every preparation was made for it in the 
province ; and, luckily, a treaty of peace had been 
renewed with the Indians in August preceding. 
The Spanish governor had been tampering with 
them, it seems, p^ well as with the negroes. Ogle- 
thorpe resolved to counteract his efforts ; and a gen- 
eral assem'!>ly of the tribes at the Cometa town, gave 
him the opportunity he wished for. 

lie travelled to Cometa, through the woods, a 
distance of more than four hundred miles, and car- 
ried with him several pack-horse loads of presents 
for the savages. He was received with the utmost 
kindness. He then conferred with the sachems 
of the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, and other 
powerful tribes. The council was continued some 
days, when,' after smoking the pipe of peace, drink- 
ing their " sofkey " with Oglethorpe, and passing 
through the various ceremonies customary on such 
occasions, they unitedly declared, that they remain- 
ed, and would remain, firm in their love fo the king 
of England, and their treaties with the province. 

Oglethorpe returned to Savannah, resolved on an 
expedition against the Spaniards. He went to 
Charleston to get assistance in preparing for 
it. The Carolina assembly voted one hun- 



180 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

dred and twenty thousand pounds for the ex- 
penses of the war. A regiment of four hundred 
men was raised : the Indians were invited to join 
in the expedition; and Price, commander of the 
English ships of war off the coast, agreed to assist 
the Georgians with a naval force of four twenty-gurf 
ships, and two sloops. Oglethorpe appointed the 
mouth of St. John's river for a place of rendezvous, 
or general meeting, and returned to Savannah. 

On the 9th of May, 1740, he commenced his 
march across Florida, with four hundreci\Tien selected 
from a regiment he had brought with him from Eng- 
land, and a large body of Indians. The very next day 
he invested Diego, a small Spanish fort, twenty- 
five miles from Augustine. It surrendered after a 
very short resistance. He left sixty men in this 
fort, and returned to the appointed place of rendez- 
vous. Here he was joined by the Carolina regiment, 
and a company of Darien Highlanders, commanded 
by Captain Mcintosh. But, before this, six Span- 
ish galleys, with long brass nine-poundefb, and two 
sloops loaded with provisions, had got into the har- 
bor at Augustine — a great disappointment to Ogle- 
thorpe's hopes. 

He now mustered two thousand men in all ; and 
he immediately a/lvanced as far as fort Moosa, with- 
in two miles of Augustine. The fort was deserted 
on his approach, and the garrison retreated into the 
town. He destroyed the gates, partly demolished the 
walls of the fort, and then proceeded to reconnoitre 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 181 

the town and castle. Notwithstanding his rapid 
march, the Spaniards, during his stay at Diego, had 
collected all the cattle from the neighboring woods, 
driven them into town, and had put themselves in 
a strong posture of defence. 

Their castle was a regular work, built of soft 
stone, with four bastions, the parapet nine feet thick, 
the rampart twenty feet high, casements beneath, 
for lodgings, arched over and newly made, bomb- 
proof. Fifty pieces of cannon were mounted, sever- 
al of them twenty-four pounders. The town was 
also defended by ten salient angles in the walls, 
mounted with small cannon. The garrison con- 
sisted of seven hundred regulars, two troops of 
horse, and four companies of armed negroes, men- 
tioned before, besides the militia of the province, 
and Indians, with a good supply of provisions, and 
the command of a fine fishery. 

Oglethorpe finally concluded to give up his first 
design of assaulting the town. With the aid of his 
ships of war, which were now anchored off the bar, 
he resolved to turn the siege into a blockade, and 
shut out all further supplies from the town. He 
left ninety-five Highlanders and forty-two Indians 
at fort Moosa, to scour the woods about the town, 
and command the back country. He ordered 
Palmer, who commanded this force, to consult his 
safety by changi-g his encampment every night, 
keeping a strict watch, and, by all means, avoiding 
a general action with the enemy. 
16 



182 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

The Carolina regiment was sent over a small 
creek, to take possession of a neck of land called 
Point Quartel, about a mile from the castle, with 
orders to erect a battery upon it. The general 
himself, as they called Oglethorpe, with his own 
regiment, and the Indians, crossed over to the 
island Anastatia. Here, as it lay opposite the town 
and castle, he could bombard both. Captain Pierce 
stationed one ship to guard the passage by way of 
the Matanzas, so called, and, with the others, 
wholly blocked up the mouth of the harbor. 

Having now mounted quite a battery on the 
island, the general summoned the Spanish govern- 
or to surrender But the haughty old gentleman, 
secure in his strong-hold, only answered, that he 
should be glad to shake hands with Oglethorpe in 
his castle. This was a very civil answer, certainly ; 
but the general, it would seem, was dissatisfied with 
it. So he opened his batteries upon the castle, 
and, at the same time, threw a number of shells into 
the town. The old governor, in return, poured shot 
upon him, from the fort and the six galleys in the 
harbor. But the distance was so great, that the 
cannonade on either side had little effect except 
to frighten the children and women in the town. 
However, it was kept up some days, with a good 
deal of noise and some smoke. 

Meanwhile, the Spanish governor, observing the 
besiegers somewhat embarrassed and negligent, 
sent out a detachment of three hundred men against 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 183 

Palmer. They surprised him and his little force at 
fort Moosa, while most of his party were asleep, 
and cut them almost entirely to pieces. Captain 
Mcintosh was taken prisoner, he and his officers 
closely confined, and his soldiers thrown into 
dungeons. 

About this time, some of the Chickasaw Indians, 
as they passed by that fort, having taken a strag- 
gling Spaniard, cut off his head, according to their 
savage manner of warfare, and brought it to the 
general in his camp, as a proud trophy of valor. 
He rejected it with horror, calling them barbarous 
dogs, and bidding them begone. Perhaps he dis- 
covered more humanity than prudence on this occa- 
sion. At all events, the Chickasaws were offended, 
and deserted him. They said, if they had carried 
an Englishman's head to the French or Spaniards, 
they would not have treated the service with con- 
tempt. 

Soon after this, the vessel stationed at the Ma- 
tanzas passage being ordered off, some small store- 
vessels from Havana, and a reinforcement of men, 
got into Augustine by that narrow channel. A par- 
ty of Creeks surprised one of these vessels, and 
brought in four Spanish prisoners to the general. 
They informed him that the reinforcement amount- 
ed to seven hundred men. He now began to de- 
spair of forcing the place to surrender. The Caro- 
lina troops, sick, fatigued and enfeebled by the heat, 
decamped in large bodies. The ships were short 



184 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

of provisions, and the season of hurricanes was ap~ 
proaching. Last of all, the general himself fell 
sick of a fever; and his worn-out troops, with heavy 
hearts, now began their return to Georgia. They 
reached Frederica on the 10th of July. Thus 
failed the expedition against Augustine, to the great 
disappointment of the provinces, and the extreme 
mortification of the general. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

A Spanish Expedition undertaken against Frederica, 
Its Defence is vigorously sustained by Oglethorpe. 
Progress of the Attack. Failure of the Expedition. 

The Spaniards still claimed the territory of Geor- 
gia, as I have told you they did formerly. But, 
finding that threats had no effect upon Oglethorpe, 
they resolved to try arms once more. An armament 
was fitted up at Havana, with which they expected 
to drive him and the English colonists out of the 
province, horse and foot, man, woman and child. 
This force left Havana in April (1742), com- 
manded by Don Antonio de Rodundo, and reached 
Augustine about the first of May. They were dis- 
covered by Captain Haymer, of the Flamborough 
man-of-war, who was cruising on that coast ; and 
advice was at once despatched to Oglethorpe. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 185 

This was the first knowledge the latter had of 
the intended expedition. He immediately set him- 
self to making the most vigorous preparations for 
a desperate defence. 

On the 28th of June, the Spanish fleet, amount- 
ing to thirty-six sail, with more than five thousand 
men aboard, under the command of Don Manuel de 
Monteano, came to anchor off St. Simon's bar, 
where they remained till July 5th, sounding the 
channel. 

They then anchored above Oglethorpe's works, at 
the south end of the island, hoisted a red flag at the 
mizzen topmast of the largest ship, landed their 
forces on the island, and erected a battery of twen- 
ty eighteen-pounders. Among the forces was a 
regiment of negroes. Their officers were clothed 
in lace, bore the same rank with the white officers, 
and walked and talked with the commander-in-chief 
with the same freedom. Oglethorpe now spiked 
the guns of his battery at St. Simon's, burst the 
bombs and grenadoes, destroyed the stores, and 
withdrew within the walls of Frederica. 

His main body of troops was kept at work on the 
fortifications. His Indian allies, meanwhile, were 
ranging through the woods, day and night, to harass 
the outposts of the enemy. His army amounted to 
no more than seven hundred men ; and his stock 
of provisions was small. But he carefully concealed 
this circumstance fi-om his troops, amused his 
Highlanders by sending them out to assist the In- 
16 * 



186 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

dians, and encouraged his men by eating, talking 
and working among them with his own hands. 
The Spaniards attempted to force a passage through 
the woods, with a view to attack the fort ; but the 
Indians kept them at bay. 

On the 7th of July, at nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing, a scout brought in word that a Spanish force 
had approached within two miles of Frederica. 
Oglethorpe ordered four platoons of his regiment to 
follow him, and instantly marched out, with some 
Indians and Highlanders who were under arms. 
He attacked the enemy about a mile from the fort, 
as they were entering a wide, level field, called a 
savanna, to take possession of a ditch, which they 
meant to use as an intrenchment. He charged 
them with such vigor, that they were soon routed. 
One hundred and twenty-nine were killed or cap- 
tured, the general taking two with his own hand. 

One Scroggs took Captain Sachio, who command- 
ed the party, prisoner. Tooanohowi, an Indian 
chief, and nephew of Tomochichi, was shot in the 
right arm by Captain Mangaleto, a Spaniard ; but 
he drew a pistol from his belt with his left, and 
shot the captain dead on the spot. The general 
pursued the enemy two miles, and halted on a 
high piece of ground, for his reinforcements to join 
him. These he posted, with the Highlanders, in a 
wood, with a large savanna in front, where the 
Spaniards, if they approached Frederica again, must 
needs pass. He himself returned to the fort. 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 187 

Very soon after, three hundred of the enemy's 
best troops attacked the party he had left. He has- 
tened to join them with a reinforcement, and on 
his way met three platoons, who, in the smoke and 
drizzling rain, had retreated in disorder. Still 
hearing the fire of the enemy, he rallied these pla- 
toons, ordered them to follow him, and rushed on 
to the aid of the other platoon and the Highlanders. 
On his arrival, he found they had wholly routed the 
enemy. In these two actions, the Spaniards lost 
two captains, one lieutenant, two sergeants, two 
drummers, and one hundred and sixty privates, 
besides prisoners. 

The Spanish commander now changed his plan 
of operations. Keeping his troops under cover of 
his cannon, he proceeded, with his galleys, up the 
river, to reconnoitre the fort, and divert Ogle- 
thorpe's attention. But the general wae not so 
easily out-witted. He watched his prey from 
the wall of Frederica with the eye of an eagle, 
fixed on an advantageous spot, and sent an Indian 
party to lie in ambuscade in the woods and grass, 
and endeavor to prevent their landing. The plan 
succeeded. 

A Spanish deserter now informed the general of 
a dispute in the Spanish army, between the Hava- 
na and the Augustine troops. He said the result 
of it was, that they encamped in separate places. 
Oglethorpe now resolved to surprise one of these 
detachments. Knowinjj every foot of the woods 



188 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

he marched out silently in the night, with three 
hundred regulars, the Highlanders, scouts and In- 
dians. Within two miles of the enemy's camp he 
halted, and advanced with a small party to take a 
view of them. 

He wished above all things to conceal his ap- 
proach. But a Frenchman of his party, firing his 
musket, ran off to the enemy, and gave the alarm. 
Oglethorpe now thought it prudent to retire to 
Frederica. Supposing that the deserter would in- 
form the enemy of his weakness, he adopted the 
following plan for counteracting the effects of his 
treachery. He addressed a letter to him, desiring 
him, to inform the Spaniards of his weakness, to 
prevail upon them to attack him, if possible, or, at 
least, induce them to stay a day or two longer on 
the island ; for within that time, an immense rein- 
forcement from Carolina would arrive. 

He longed for nothing so much, he said, as an 
attack. The letter concluded with enjoining se- 
crecy upon the deserter, and warned him, of all 
things, not to drop a word about Admiral Vernon's 
intended attack upon St. Augustine by sea. This 
last clause was wholly a stratagem ; but it had its 
effect. 

The letter was given to a Spanish deserter, who 
promised to deliver it privately to the Frenchman, 
and to conceal the delivery from all other persons. 
He was to hint round, too, among the Spanish sol- 
diers, that the Frenchman was not a true de- 






AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 189 

serter, but a spy upon the Spanish camp. On 
condition of managing this deception (innocent in 
Oglethorpe, I think, under his circumstances), the 
Spaniard was liberated, and intrusted with the 
letter. 

He did his business faithfully ; delivered the letter 
to the Frenchman, and, by various innuendoes among 
the Spanish soldiers, soon made the latter a suspi- 
cious character. As Oglethorpe had expected, the 
Frenchman carried his letter to the Spanish general, 
and the general communicated its contents to his 
officers. Never were people more perplexed. But 
their conclusion finally was, to give up the expedition 
at once, and make their way to Augustine with 
all possible speed, where they were in hopes to 
arrive soon enough to save it from Vernon. 

But, just at this time, three small vessels, which 
the governor of Carolina had sent to watch the mo- 
tions of the enemy, appeared off the coast. This 
corresponded so well with what the letter said about 
a reinforcement, that it induced the Spaniards to 
credit the whole letter. They forthwith determined 
to make an assault upon Frederica, with all their 
force, before the rest of the reinforcement, as they 
supposed it, should appear. 

The whole Spanish army was now put in motion. 
This Oglethorpe ascertained very soon after, from 
a few Spanish prisoners, taken and brought in by 
his Indians. He immediately despatched Captain 
Dunbar, with a company of grenadiers, to join his 



I' 



190 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, 

regulars and Indians, who were already out, with 
orders to harass the enemy on their advance. These 
detachments, having formed a junction, soon de- 
scried the Spanish army at a distance on the march. 
They formed an ambuscade on the borders of a 
woody marsh, and waited for them in silence. 

Fortunately, the enemy halted within a hundred 
paces of this position j stacked their arms, kindled 
fires, and were preparing their kettles for cooking ; 
when a horse, seeing some of the party in am- 
buscade, was frightened at the uniforms and bright 
bayonets of the regulars, which he saw through 
the bushes, and began to snort and paw the 
ground. This spread an alarm. The Spaniards 
ran to their arms. But the ambuscaders now 
fired upon them, without leaving their concealment, 
and did terrible execution. 

The Spaniards were thrown into confusion. 
Their enemy was invisible, while their own num- 
bers fell like grass before the mower. Their offi- 
cers shouted, and swore, and brandished their 
swords, and fired their pistols in the air, all to no 
purpose. Most of them were shot down within the 
first ten minutes. Their troops now fled in all direc- 
tions, not a man of them stopping to look behind 
him, till they got under cover of the guns of their 
ships and battery. Many fled without so much as 
taking up their arms, which stood stacked beside 
them. Others discharged their muskets but once 
^over their shoulders at the English, who now pur- 



AND OTHER SOUTHERN STATES. 191 

sued them. One or two of the Enghsh were killed 
by the loaded guns which were left on the ground, 
and accidentally fired off. 

On the 14th of July, all the large vessels of the 
Spanish force, with the Havana troops on board, 
sailed off to the southward. The rest of their army, 
having burnt the English works on Jekyl island, 
and the south end of St. Simon's, embarked in the 
small craft, and landed on the north point of Cum- 
berland island, at fort St. Andrew's. 

My readers will remember, that fort William stood 
on the south end of the latter island. It was com- 
manded by Ensign Stuart. To him Oglethorpe 
now sent word, directing him, in case of attack, to 
defend his walls to the last extremity. At day- 
break, twenty-eight sail of the Spanish line appeared 
off fort William. Fourteen of them even entered the 
harbor, and demanded the surrender of the garrison. 
Stuart replied to their messenger in these brief 
and dry terms: "Tell your master, young man, 
that this fort will not be given up ; and it capnot be 
taken." 

The Spaniards were resolved to try it, however. 
They commenced a brisk cannonade upon the works, 
from their galleys and other vessels. A party attempt- 
ed to land, also ; but were repulsed by a small body of 
light rangers, just arrived from the north part of the 
island. Stuart, with but sixty men, defended his 
fort for three hours with such bravery, that the ene- 
my at length became desperate of success j and di# 



192 EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, &c, 

covering the approach of Oglethorpe with a rein- 
forcement, by sea, they retreated. 

Tvvoof their galleys were disabled and abandoned. 
Stuart was promoted for his brave defence. This 
was the last appearance of the Spaniards ; and thus 
was Georgia, not to say Carolina, saved by the ac- 
tivity, courage and skill of Oglethorpe. He more 
than recovered the reputation he had lost ; and all 
British America, from north to south, was soon 
filled with his praise. 



I HAVE now told my young reader some of the most in- 
teresting particulars respecting the Early History of Vir- 
ginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. After the 
events I have related, little occurred in either of these colo- 
nics, worthy of being mentioned here, till the Revolution. 

Virginia, and North and South Carolina, sngaged at an 
early peiiod in that glorious struggle ; Georgia did not join 
the confederation till the year 1775. The share which 
these portions of the country had in the war, I have given 
you an account of, in my Story of the Revolution. 

At the time that America was declaxed independent, in 
1776, or soon after, the four colonies, whose history I have 
been telling you, became independent states, and ha.eever 
since remained so. They are now large and flourishing 
portions of the Union, and contain many thousands of in- 
habitants. 

Virginia was originally much more extensive than at 
present. It included what now constitutes the state of 
Kentucky; this became a separate district in 1786, and in 
1792 was admitted as one of the United States. 

Tennessee was a part of the two Carolinas until 172&J 
these colonies then being divided into North and South 
Carolina, Tennessee was attached to the former ; in 1789, 
it was ceded to the United States, and in 1796, became an 
independent state. I shall tell you more about Kentucky 
and TenuQssee,in my History of the Western States. 



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